Chapter 7: Destroy-to-Own

From “Destroy-to-Own: Austerity and Ownership in the Second Expansion”

Dr. Angeline Gerrard, Falson University

A quest for legitimacy underscores the imperialist impulses of Casul politics during the Second Expansion. Archeological records indicate that the Hadler civilization was primarily agrarian and peaceful. The city now known as Falson was built by Casul engineers and architects, not the Hadlers themselves. That the seemingly placid Hadlers managed to topple their occupiers and claim the city for themselves clearly influenced the views of Casul elites, at least in terms of ownership of the land.

Hector Demple, the prominent Minister of Growth during the early Second Expansion, ominously complained, “When the ants overtake your house, you must stomp them with a bigger boot. Otherwise, you have ceded civilization to organized vermin.” Demple consistently expressed his bigotry through metaphors involving insects. This was a tactical choice, as the Casul worldview generally allowed for…