Balance to the Force?

[Tower75]

Greetings, all.

You know, there's a lot of mention in Star Wars literature, and in the films for that matter, that there needs to be balance in the Force.

In fact, Qui Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace stands before the Jedi Council with lil' Anakin and says, "he will bring balance to the Force", or something to that effect.

This got me thinking, at this time in Star Wars, there's only the Jedi. There hasn't been a Sith in years (hundreds?) and everything's pretty peaceful; granted the Trade Federation is kicking off, but we're not talking galactic peril here.
So, "balance" to the Force surely means: introduce some bad guys to kill a bunch o' people 'cos at present the Jedi are at the top of the bar chart, no?

If we ignore all the fan-theories about Qui Gon being a secret Sith, the fact that he wants "balance" so much, is he basically saying to the Jedi Council, "I believe we need balance, which means we need some bad guys here."?
What was Anakin supposed to do to bring "balance" to the Force?

 

[Vince W]

Perhaps the purging of the Jedi was meant to end with Anakin toping himself, or at least being mortally wounded. No more Jedi, no more Sith. Force in balance.

 

[Phyrebrat]

I always took it to mean that Palpatine was over-powerful. The Empire is ruling with ease, crushing anything that gets in its way, under him, and the only person who can stop him is Anakin; Luke's not strong enough and ends up wriggling around the floor like a worm on a hook until Vader picks up the Emperor and dashes him down the well.

Also, on a more realistic, unsatisfying note, we have to remember that George Lucas often goes for style over content. A prophecy that goes on about bringing balance to the Force sounds good, but it doesn't mean he's thought it out. Properly.

And on a more philosophical point, isn't Good or Light a passive or inactive stance? Therefore when there is an excess of Jedi, the Force could be said to be in balance as they don't do anything to influence or change it. It takes darkness for the Force to be imbalanced.

Just some sophistry there for ya

pH

 

[Tower75]

Also, on a more realistic, unsatisfying note, we have to remember that George Lucas often goes for style over content. A prophecy that goes on about bringing balance to the Force sounds good, but it doesn't mean he's thought it out. Properly.

I think it's probably that to be honest. There's too many accounts of people who have worked with him that say that he "wrote" Star Wars, but he's a dangerously insane human who can't actually "write" a story.

 

[Gawian]

My belief is that the Jedi Council knew there were SOME Sith still in the galaxy, but they were quiet, so not a threat.

Embracing the Dark Side of the force allows you to freely use more powerful abilities than being light aligned does not.

For example, I think all force sensitives have the same powers, except Jedi only use their powers for good. What good can come with choking someone, or producing lightning? So even though they can do it, they don't because it's not in their ethos.

As such, being dark inclined makes you more powerful because you can use your entire arsenal (so to speak).

So to be balanced, there would have to be more good than bad, because the bad is actually stronger. It's like weighing scales.

100g brick on one side, and 100g feathers on the other. There's going to be a lot more feathers than there are bricks.

Balance.

At least, that's my idea of it, if you could follow that. I think it went a little disjointed somewhere along the way.

 

[Frost Giant]

Killing off all of the Sith people isn't really relevant and in the end may not even be possible. The Dark Side is more than people, it inhabits places and objects. Even on Dagobah there is a location that Yoda says "is strong with the Dark Side." There are Sith holocrons that contain forbidden Dark Side knowledge and a lot of the personality of the Sith Lord that made them. In Lucas' universe Force sensitive people are born all the time, whether they turn out to be Jedi or Sith depends a lot on how and by whom they are nurtured. Characters have spoken of the "will of The Force," seeming to imply the Force itself seeks to maintain some kind of balance.
The two sides seem to switch tactics as well. The Sith limit themselves to two and operate in secret, ultimately taking over to more or less rule openly, having overthrown the Jedi. Vader certainly doesn't hide his abilities - he uses the Force to murder people in public constantly. The Jedi were once an open part of government, running a council in the capital city of the Republic - until they are deposed. Then their numbers are limited and they operate in secret, trying to overthrow the Sith.
When Sidious and Yoda observe there are many similarities between the two (pride being the biggest one) they are certainly not wrong. Yoda's experience with Anakin has also made him (and Obi Wan) extremely paranoid about Luke embracing the Dark Side instead of the Jedi philosophy. Judging by some of Yoda's behavior and comments it seems like Luke could easily slip at any time, making the notion of Sith/Jedi affiliation even more murky.
Ultimately, I think it takes one to define the other, I don't see one side being "wiped out" completely. As long as the Dark and Light side of The Force continue to be natural manifestations you'll always have Force users that prefer to use one or the other based on culture, upbringing and their own personality.