All important themes of Dune by Frank Herbert

 There are quite a few important themes in Dune:

  • A deep respect for Ecology (Sandtrout -> Sandworms -> Spice -> Sandtrout...). The importance of perceiving the underlying worm/spice life cycle is echoed in nearly every other plot element in the series as well.
  • "Bio-tech" in the shape of complex human systems - there are no technological wonders in the Dune universe akin to most sci-fi. Everything important, from mentats, genetic programs and even prescience and to a degree space folding is predicated on tapping human mental ability and control.
  • Manipulation of historical forces - just as the Landsraad and Harkonnen especially were held in check via Shaddam's political maneuvering, the intense religious fervour that is part-in-parcel with the unforgiving Fremen life on the sands is similarly exploited by Paul and Jessica. Plans within plans abound and the upshot of this is that Dune proposes that just as the spice does not emerge in a vacuum, neither does anything social emerge without a significant precursor (i.e. social preconditioning of the Fremen, an empire ripe for jihad under Shaddam).

But I would think the foremost theme is something that is often lost in popular appreciation of Dune: Frank Herbert thought handing over great power to a single deified leader was a VERY bad idea. This message gets lost in the heroic arc of Dune, but if you follow-up with Dune Messiah, you get a deeper look into just how flawed both Herbert and in turn Paul find this natural tendency for societies to be. In short, latching on to a Kwisatz Haderach or similar superman figure creates more chaos unless the saviour is also willing to take on the role of utter despot (in a benevolent way, i.e. God Emperor of Dune).

For example, despite his prescience and role as supreme leader of the Fremen, Paul is completely unable to prevent the coming galactic jihad that he understands his move against the Emperor will unleash. He is as much a slave to his legend as his subjects are. Certainly the latter books go even further into exploring the downsides of putting all our eggs into the basket of a supreme leader. This elevates Dune from being merely heroic wish-fulfillment. Instead, the plight of Paul especially is quite a tragic and cautionary tale.

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