>I think you're actually *both* right, and here's why:
>
>There's a basic disconnect going on here - most devotees in Heortling (or
>most other) societies aren't going to be non-producers - a Devotee of
>Barntar will be farming and producing food as part of his Religious duties.
>Devotees of Chalana Arroy are going to be healing people, and (more
>importantly, in some respects) keeping Malia at bay. Even devotees of the
>(many!) warrior gods will earn their mead when the Black Foxes come raiding,
>or when we go cattle-raiding against the Broken Rocks. These people will be
>bringing in (or saving) more than their numbers would indicate.
>
>The heortling "nonproducing" specialists are people like lawspeakers and
>musicians - these guys *must* be supported by the community, as their job
>produces no material benefit.
Why is a lawspeaker who defends the clans rights against the Black Foxes at the tribal court any more of a non-producer than the warrior who defends the cattle against their raiders?
I don't see any of those people as productive, more necessary specialists. People who by virtue of their specialisation contribute more than they would as unspecialised farmers. The same is true of devotees in farming cults - it's not their ability to produce more that is important but by sharing their knowledge and magic all the farmers in the clan produce more. I can see a devotee of Barntar doing relatively little farming himself but helping and advising others on how to get the best from their land.
>So the number of "non-producing" specialists is actually much lower than the
>number of Devotees. So "less than 10% specialists" is right and so is "15%
>Devotees". "Devotee" /= "Nonproducer" even though both might be called
>"Specialists".
Except that you're ignoring the fact that most specialists are initiates rather than devotees.
>In Dara Happa, Kralorela, and similar cultures, you get far more
>"nonproducers" (Buserian, Bureaucrats, etc), but you also have the
>benefits of civilization.
That's mainly because these cultures have far more productive farmland than Sartar. They can afford a higher proportion of nonproducers. The farmers are probably poorer as well.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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