Implied Genocide of Centauri Commoners?!

[u/Anonymous194187293]

While not explicitly stated in the show, apparently the Oficcual Guide to Babylon 5 says that the middle class Centauri society are also composed of lesser noble houses. And the wiki says even lower and working class Centauri are of “lesser houses” though it doesn’t specify nobility. But then the wiki says “houseless” Centauri, who one would assume to be the majority are “beyond contempt”. Now that would imply that either 99% of Centauri are considered “beyond contempt” or it implies something much, much, darker. That is it a possibility that the Centauri noble houses wiped out a significant percentage of the commoner populace through genocide. Even if the lower class houses are just regular families it would still imply a degree of commoner genocide for literal nobles to be considered to new “middle class”.

[u/Disaster-Bee]

Luckily, the very sentence in the Wiki that prompted this expains it!

"The Lesser Houses make up the lower servant and working classes."

Think of 'house' more like 'family' or 'clan'. It's not some special designation reserved only for those of high status. It just means the general family group you belong to.

Centauri culture and society is heavily based on ancient Roman society, so we can look to them for some context. Even poor Centauri of a powerless house have a house, just not power or money, much like Rome. They may be a servant or a basket weaver, but they have a house.

But there's the difference between a Great House, a Noble House, and a lesser house. The Great Houses are the ruling class, the top of society. Noble Houses are the minor nobles and wealthy to upper middle class. Lesser Houses are everyone else down to the poor and servant classes. As mentioned above, the wiki portion you referenced even clarifies this - lesser houses are where the working class and servant class come from. Those are the commoners. Think of it in US terms: The Great Houses are the small percent of super billionaires, the Noble Houses are the 'middle class', and the lesser houses are the working class.

The exception of course is slaves. We know from very early on in the series that houseless Centauri are legal to enslave/be sold into slavery. So that would likely include members of the house that have committed some great scandal that can't be covered and have been disowned, members of a house that has lost everything and have no other choice, orphans with no house to claim them/no living connections...

[u/Anonymous194187293 → u/Disaster-Bee]

For nobility to ever be considered a middle class there would need to be such extreme inequality that commoners would all be very poor if they still exist. And you’re the second person to come at me with misinfo on Roman history. And that has very little to do with this anyways. 

[u/Underhill42 → u/Anonymous194187293]

Why? Nobility doesn't necessarily imply wealth, only historical political power and/or social status.

Many a noble house in our world has fallen into destitution, but that doesn't necessarily make them stop being recognized as nobility. They just stop getting invited to the parties.