Talk:Equalists/@comment-67.174.14.38-20120610070454

The changes between the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra express a change of political culture.

In Last Airbender, feudalism and nationalism were the dominant ideologies. National identity and personal honor were immensely important to almost every character. Zuko battled his national and royal identities, Aang sought to come to terms with the destruction of his nation and so on. Most of society was rural except for a tiny noble elite. Like in feudalism, where the powerful rule, benders held most of the power in this world, and we took this for granted because of the omnipresence of war. Of course the general or the king would be a bender! We could see how risky not having bending could be for even the most powerful people (the Earth King, for example)

In Legend of Korra, feudalism and nationalism have been replaced by democracy, capitalism and multiculturalism. Nationhood is no longer important, and a commercial culture unites all inhabitants. Bending however, supports the existence of an elite class, a remnant of the earlier military feudal rulers from the world of Last Airbender. Without nationalism to pit them against each other, and without war to force the nonbenders to rely on them, the elite class suddenly has no purpose, and nonbenders begin to see the possibility of overthrowing them.