I need a term that's bettern than "Modern Reformation"

Dennis E. Taylor

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Scenario: It's 150 years in the future. Something happened in that interval, a huge political and social upheaval which resulted in the UN being essentially a true World Government (WorldGov) and the individual member countries being reduced to states. It was caused at least in part by government excesses and human rights violations, which essentially resulted in a global popular revolution.

Aaaaaaaaaaanyway, that's about as much detail as I've put into the novel so far. The event resulted in much tougher laws and limits on what governments, law enforcement, and military could do to private citizens. I've been calling it the Modern Reformation just as a place-holder, but I'm wondering if there might be a more apt (and maybe catchy) name. Any suggestions?
 

Bolero

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Um. Just in terms of suspension of disbelief -

1. I thought the United Nations was made up by representatives of governments

2. Plenty of corruption and human rights violations going on a present - but it is never the same in every country. So the UN is sending forces made up from countries with better governments to countries where there is currently perceived to be a problem. I'd find it implausible that the whole world goes to pot at the same time - unless there was already a world government that went to hell and did its best to oppress the whole world and the global revolution was against a corrupt world government.

If you are going for a World Gov I'd fudge the roots a bit more - after all it is a standard sf trope that in the future there is a global government so how much would readers question the origins of it, unless you put in details that make people go "hang on a moment".


On words - can't think of a better one at present, but to me in the UK "reformation" is what happened to the Church of England under Henry the 8th - complete with the state doing land grabs from the church, followed by Bloody Mary Tudor wanting to reverse it and burning people at the stake and so on.
 
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shortstorymachinist

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Maybe the Human Reclamation? Or something similar to indicate that they're taking back rights which were supposed to be inalienable in the first place? I dunno, just spitballin'.
 

Tazlima

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Is the story set during this uprising, or do your characters think of it as history? The big-picture hindsite view tends to give rise to broader descriptions encompassing the entire era, while current events tend to have names for smaller portions of that situation, with more esoteric roots.

Think of how a city's residents divide a city into neighborhoods, while people who aren't from there often know the name of the city, but not much more. i.e. Lots of people won't recognize this list of names: Hollygrove, Pigeontown, Bucktown, CBD, Carrollton, Black Pearl, Garden District, etc. However, most people HAVE heard of New Orleans, where these areas are located.

If the conflict is in the present or the near-past, you can have fun coming up with crazy names for different portions for it, and you don't even have to explain their origins, because people might not know themselves. (I've tried for years to pin down the origins of the name "Pigeontown," asking the old-timers around here. I've heard three different theories, and all of them are prefaced with, "Well, I'm not sure, but I think maybe...")
 

Dennis E. Taylor

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Maybe the Human Reclamation? Or something similar to indicate that they're taking back rights which were supposed to be inalienable in the first place? I dunno, just spitballin'.

It's already better than 'reformation', which (as Bolero points out) is inappropriate.

Bolero: I've supplied very little detail, just passing references, so it'll be hard to work up some suspension of disbelief unless the reader's politics demands it. Also, it isn't worldwide. Just like the "World Series", the titles are a little hyperbolic.
 

Dennis E. Taylor

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Is the story set during this uprising, or do your characters think of it as history? The big-picture hindsite view tends to give rise to broader descriptions encompassing the entire era, while current events tend to have names for smaller portions of that situation, with more esoteric roots.

Think of how a city's residents divide a city into neighborhoods, while people who aren't from there often know the name of the city, but not much more. i.e. Lots of people won't recognize this list of names: Hollygrove, Pigeontown, Bucktown, CBD, Carrollton, Black Pearl, Garden District, etc. However, most people HAVE heard of New Orleans, where these areas are located.

If the conflict is in the present or the near-past, you can have fun coming up with crazy names for different portions for it, and you don't even have to explain their origins, because people might not know themselves. (I've tried for years to pin down the origins of the name "Pigeontown," asking the old-timers around here. I've heard three different theories, and all of them are prefaced with, "Well, I'm not sure, but I think maybe...")

It's history. The main point is to create an environment in which the military will hesitate significantly before just 'disappearing' the protagonist.
 

benbenberi

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Revolutionary movements tend to go for grandiose nomenclature. How about something like the Glorious Dawn (of Universal Human Rights)? Or the Righteous Liberation? Or the Cradle of Justice? Or the Great Reunification? Or the Global Peace? Whether or not there's anything of Justice, Glory or Peace involved is beside the point...
 

DrDoc

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Lots of groups and religions that wouldn't want to see this happen. Did it happen by violence or a collapse of the 'old ways'? Was there a hero that led the revolution? Maybe Indebe Wilde led the revolution and people say "Since the time of Indebe", or the 'Indebe Rebellion", 'The New Way', or "Since Peace Began". Or the "CHHI Upheaval" [pronounced 'chi'] (Christian, Hindu/Hebrew, Islamic)?

FWIW
DrDoc
 

lonestarlibrarian

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Have you thought about something along the "Renewal" line of thinking? ie, emerging from corruption? Renewal, or Awakening.

"Renaissance" means "rebirth" or "reawakening". The Renaissance period existed for different timeframes in different countries-- the Italian renaissance lasted from the 14th-17th c. But it wasn't until the mid-19th c that Michelet and Burckhardt really popularized the term. But you might find the word "Renaissance" in other languages, and maybe use that as a root.

You run into renaissances periodically throughout history, as people emerge from a period they consider "degenerate" and make an effort to renew society. Like a renaissance of classic values in Ancient Greece, or a renaissance of art and architecture, or a renaissance of virtue and creativity, or whatever.
 

GregFH

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New Global Order? The People's Earth? The People's Planet? United Planet? United Earth?
 

ironmikezero

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Human cultures have historic propensities to fight among themselves. They will, however, join forces to combat a common enemy. Your tale may need such a significant motivation (imminent asteroid collision, extraterrestrial invasion, etc.) to induce global cooperation that could lay the groundwork for a planet-wide government and related planetary defense infrastructure (Federated Republic of Earth, comprised of voting nation states?). In terms of time, it can take as long as you feel the tale needs.