What is a "balanced" force, and do the Jedi want it?

Question

The Prophecy of the Chosen One says that it will lead to "ultimate balance in the Force be restored". What does this actually mean? Is the goal to wipe out the Sith? If so, how is that balance? Wouldn't true balance be one Jedi and one Sith (or, I suppose, any n:n ratio thereof)?

Regardless of the above, does the Jedi Order want balance in the force? Or do they want dominance over it?

Since the Sith lords tend to wield more power than grunt-level Jedi, it's not necessary that the numbers of people be equal for their force to be equal. In fact, it's canon (at this point) that there have usually only been a handful of Sith versus academies of Jedi. — lly, Jun 06 '19 at 01:20
In any case, Brian, before the introduction of magic mitochondria, Star Wars's idea of the "Force" was obviously built on the "Way" of Chinese Taoism. I wouldn't warrant that Mr Lucas understood much of it besides "rule of cool" but you can look for the answer to your question in the way masters feel life comes from a balance of male and female energy and an excess of either is unhealthy, while in daily life most Chinese just take yang as "the good one" and try to maximize it to prolong virility and life. — lly, Jun 06 '19 at 01:32
@Ginge, the second Q is a duplicate but the 1st isn't. Similarly, an answer to the question isn't the answer to the question. Note that the comments on the linked answer show Lucas repeatedly contradicting himself on the topic. I think that's what's to be expected: western hero narratives and Taoist philosophy fundamentally don't work together. He says the word balance but actually always meant genocidal victory over/redemption of the evildoers. — lly, Jun 06 '19 at 01:37
@Ily - In fairness, I wouldn't call killing the Sith (what Lucas is talking about) genocidal. The Sith aren't an ethnic group, they're an organization comprised of people from various ethnic groups, such as humans and Dathomirians, one that never numbers more than two at any time. "Murderous," perhaps, in the sense that surely under the Empire's laws killing Palpatine was illegal. But then, to be murderous requires more than simply committing murder. — Adamant, Jun 06 '19 at 07:20
But in any case, I'd be hesitant to use any negative word to describe killing Space Hitler to stop him from blowing up more planets. — Adamant, Jun 06 '19 at 07:24
Wouldn't true balance be one Jedi and one Sith? Like one ant and one boot? — Paul D. Waite, Jun 15 '19 at 16:46

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 15 '19 at 16:40

A lot of the canon support the idea that "Balance" simply means the absence of the Dark Side.

However, the Gray Jedi represent more of a balance, than the Light/Dark dichotomy:

“There can be no chaos without order, no good without evil. Such is the way of the universe. The Force flows through us all, in all of its peace and passion. This, the Gray Jedi believe, and by this, we shall live…”

^Source

They (generally) do not associate with the Council, or the Empire, and simply follow the idea that all aspects of the Force should be mastered, regardless of their apparent morality.

The latest movies, however, seem to be leading more toward an absence of all Force users, all together. Luke wants to abandon the way of the Jedi, and tries to teach this to Rey, though potentially sees her as a way to end it all - she has power, and seems to have an aversion to the idea of the "Jedi" - in that she only wants to control the power she has, not necessarily use it for good, or evil.

^{This is only speculation, at this point, until the movie is released.}

Ultimately, those that talk about "Balance in the Force", depends really on who is saying it. Some talk about Light without Dark, some talk about control over both, and some talk about the absence of all of it.

What is a "balanced" force, and do the Jedi want it?

1 Answers1