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cruiserman_80 t1_j24ea7m wrote

A better analogy to us would be the only source of oil, because without the spice there is no interplanetary travel or trade and no Empire so no Emperor.

And we all know what nations will do and who they will ally with to ensure the oil flows.

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Gamebird8 t1_j25f0tp wrote

Yeah, but the spice is also extremely magical and almost acts as a sort of life source.

There is no real world contemporary analogy for the Spice Melange because it's like 10 things combined.

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Kazodex t1_j25iiz7 wrote

This is the correct answer. In addition to what the above posters pointed out, melange has a psychedelic effect as well.

Frank Herbert stated that psilocybin had a major effect on his conception of spice

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Toby_Forrester t1_j25vefc wrote

Yea there's no real world analogue, but still, oil would be better than cocaine, since it corresponds to the role of spice in trade and economics which fuel the politics. The spacing guild uses the psychedelic effects of spice to travel faster than light, making interstellar travel possible = oil makes efficient global travel possible.

And if you think of about a desert world occupied by foreign powers to get their hands on precious resource for trade, it corresponds to Arrakis and Middle East. The Fremen culture of Dune have notable Arabic roots.

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Ambiorix33 t1_j264met wrote

i mean thats the whole point of the book, he was talking about a desert planet with a rare resource that all the major powers wanted to control but whos extraction directly has a negative effect on the environment (not terraforming because it would ruin the spice harvests).

The analogy for the middle east's oil couldnt be more clear cut

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Infectedd t1_j26vqkn wrote

I think ultimately Spice is just an analogy for power, in physical form. The Spice always directly equates to power through all the books, but it becomes more explicitly clear in the later ones.

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dlacono t1_j26w3ci wrote

Heroin and Afghanistan maybe?

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Ambiorix33 t1_j26ybdo wrote

No super power went to Afghanistan with the main factor being opium though, but what DID happen was multiple super powers invading the middle east for oil, see The Great Loot

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RiddlingVenus0 t1_j25x4on wrote

That’s not true. Tom Brady exists in the real world.

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the_man_in_the_box t1_j2522fp wrote

I mean, the best analogy is probably the one from the books: water.

Once you’re addicted (most nobles are), you die if you stop taking it.

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Dusty170 t1_j285tbh wrote

That sounds like the drug Luciferium from Rimworld, Its like a pill of millions of nanites that can improve everything about you, and heal 'unhealable' injuries and debilitations, but requires regular doses to refresh the nanites or you go berserk and die, real nice.

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nonrebreather t1_j29l9vr wrote

Lucy cures everything, except luciferium addiction. Lotta love for the rim.

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Ambiorix33 t1_j264ith wrote

i mean that WAS the whole point of the book, he was talking about a desert planet with a rare resource that all the major powers wanted to control but whos extraction directly has a negative effect on the environment (not terraforming because it would ruin the spice harvests).

The analogy for the middle east's oil couldnt be more clear cut

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Rough_Dan t1_j27svlv wrote

Frank Herbert himself said that the point of the book was to warn against placing trust in charismatic leaders and dogma. The book is about ideologies and the struggle for meaning, it has a tiny bit about some resource and some middle eastern influence but that's far from being it's main point.

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Ambiorix33 t1_j28etur wrote

I suppose so, but this defiantly the main vehicle. He was an ecologist after all and very critical about involvement there.

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Tanagrabelle t1_j24yax0 wrote

Eh. I can't speak for the movie, but without spice they're stuck with going the slow way around, the Guild loses its monopoly of all travel. The Emperor can't just drop his forces anywhere at his whim (though that requires the cooperation of the Guild). The BG have to go back to less useful methods for unlocking their ability to tap into their ancestors.

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bigwebs t1_j26ljxg wrote

Exactly. Spice was really just a logistics enabler with the pleasant side effects of enhancing human performance.

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Tanagrabelle t1_j2724iu wrote

Heck, without the spice they might have to... build computers. You'd think they'd know that you can bleeping have computers without making AI. Especially the BG, who have memories that go way back.

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Rough_Dan t1_j27t3ek wrote

All thinking machines were outlawed, not just AI, even calculators are forbidden, hence the need for mentats

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Tanagrabelle t1_j27ymtn wrote

Ah, that's right! Leto II got away with quite a lot, didn't he, with his thought-dictation. And they really trapped themselves with that overabundance of restrictions. Or rather, they trapped everyone else.

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LepreKanyeWest t1_j26wwc7 wrote

I can't believe as a teenager, I didn't get the middle east analogy. People are fighting over the stuff that makes the vehicles go. Right over my freakin' head.

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