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First off this excludes Tyranids, Necrons, Orks, and Daemons - creatures that have no real sophisticated self-determination so they have no standard of living. Also minor races like Kroot, Vespids, and Exodite Eldar are excluded as not enough fluff is out there.

Life is always good for the high and mighty anywhere but I'm talking about the average Joe.

Craftworld Eldar - highest technology of remaining races, lives in giant glass domed craftworlds, different shrines and paths dedicated to different pursuits from warrior aspects to art and poetry, lives for thousands of years, Eldar generally really value their lives. However cannot reproduce freely due to she who thirsts and is a dying race unless they get more spirit stones.

Tau - greater good philosophy and generally decent level of technology available to everyone leads to generally peaceful co-existence within their borders. Their law and justice system is likely not to be as brutal as the Imperium of Man. Embodies the "community" or the many over the one.

Dark Eldar - selfish pursuits of torture and lust and the ability to do anything you want to lesser races embodies the idea of the individual over all. However DE society is every man/woman out for himself and live is likely "nasty, brutish, and short". Souls likely consumed by Slaanesh when they die.

Imperium of Man - Religious Fascist state with brutal laws and punishment. Average human likely lives in squalor in hives cities or Forgeworlds. Lives are a cheap commodity.

Chaos humans - Likely similar to Dark Eldar with Chaos mutations and random Daemons killing you on a daily basis, likely the average citizen of a Chaos World are little more then slaves as blood for the blood god. I'm sure there must be some society and system of law and order however or is it purely tribal?

I think its a toss-up between Craftworld Eldar with all their tech to make their lives comfortable or the Tau for their slightly less brutal average living standard than the Imperium. Dark Eldar and Chaos probably not since anyone could kill you at any time.

Orks. So long as there's a fight, anywhere is fine.

Imperium. The others are filthy xenos scum who don't deserve to live!

 GoonBandito wrote:
Imperium. The others are filthy xenos scum who don't deserve to live!

But the Imperium is a Fascist Xenophobic brutal police state akin to Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany with the Gestapo being able to do whatever they want with you. The average imperial citizen probably has little to no access to technology beyond basic cooking gas and heating and probably has zero chance to pursue their self-determination apart from joining the imperial guard. They have little say in their lives and likely will never even leave his/her home planet.

Eldar lives 1000s of years, has technology that can construct worlds with their minds, never have to work EVER, and spend their thousands of years pursuing art, poetry, or literature (or join a warrior aspect and kill Chaos) or however they feel like it. They never have to worry about food, money, or shelter. EVER

 Arcsquad12 wrote:
Orks. So long as there's a fight, anywhere is fine.

Yeah, orks live to fight. By their very nature, they have the highest quality of life what with all the total and unending war.

After that I'd go with Craftworlders, the Biel-Tan aristocracy is without doubt disgustingly posh.

Most of humanity live in awful conditions on hive worlds... and there're worse hells in the Imperium.

Craftworld Eldar don't get to have sex when they want.

Pretty sure life sucks hard for your run of the mill Dark Eldar.

Tau are the obvious, as well as correct, answer.

Eldar society is probably like the Community in The Giver (book). No fun allowed.

Although from what I read from reading Path of the Eldar, Craftworld society is fairly hedonistic.

 EmpNortonII wrote:
Most of humanity live in awful conditions on hive worlds... and there're worse hells in the Imperium.

you're assuming most Imperial worlds are hive worlds an assumption not born out by any evidance. not to say humanity has the highest standards of living by any amount. (I'd argue the IoM proably has the greatest wealth gap with humans living in both the best and the worst conditions) but I've never been given the impression hive worlds are the most common

I'm going to go with either Tau or Orks.

For Tau, despite the doctrine being quite strict, the necessity doesn't feel as strong as the Eldar (failure to follow gets you eaten by a space god), or the IoM (where you would be shot on sight). Also, they do not have to worry as much about Chaos compared to the other races due to their... somewhat immunity to Chaos?

As for Orks, like another poster said, you can give them a battle and some guns, and the orks will be happy. Their psychic abilities that turn their beliefs into reality might help somewhat too.

This is hard...

IoM goes without saying why they're NOT a contender. Hive Worlds generally suck. Outcast Dead, as crummy as that book was overall, did indicate that life on Terra for the average citizen was gak.

Dark Eldar's very nature indicates that life can be straight up MISERABLE. Paranoia, backstabbing, sadistic pleasures of those higher up. Yeah, nooooo way.

Craftworld Eldar probably all have decent quality of living but then again, their lives have to be strictly regimented as implied by the Path system. Free will seems to extremely limited. Sure thanks to Slaanesh, but any other not-so grimdark setting, it'd potentially be dystopian akin to A Brave New World except instead of being born into your path, you get the chance to choose one and while it's possible to change from one to another, it would also appear that it's quite easy for the Eldar to be completely trapped within their chosen path considering how their emotions work. Too much emphasis on one leaves them entrapped in it.

Tau... does this one really need explaining? Sure, on the outside they seem all bright and shiny but with their caste system, the ever-vague Greater Good, blah blah blah... Doesn't it seem remarkably similar to the likes of 1984, We and A Brave New World? The Greater Good really makes me think of Big Brother, instead a concept instead of a person. Ethereals pheromones = soma, etc.

In short, I think I'll go with Eldar Exodites or perhaps Corsairs.

It depends on where in the IoM you are, I suppose. Any Paradise world, or a world like Macragge, and you will probably have a great life. Somewhere like Armageddon or Necromunda? Maybe not so much...

 Crazyterran wrote:
It depends on where in the IoM you are, I suppose. Any Paradise world, or a world like Macragge, and you will probably have a great life. Somewhere like Armageddon or Necromunda? Maybe not so much...

hence my earlier comment about how the IoM proably has the greatest "luxery gap" likely having the greatest heights, and the greatest depths

BrianDavion wrote:

 EmpNortonII wrote:
Most of humanity live in awful conditions on hive worlds... and there're worse hells in the Imperium.

you're assuming most Imperial worlds are hive worlds an assumption not born out by any evidance. not to say humanity has the highest standards of living by any amount. (I'd argue the IoM proably has the greatest wealth gap with humans living in both the best and the worst conditions) but I've never been given the impression hive worlds are the most common

They're not. They're the most populated.

Add to them Forge Worlds, where the standard is even worse, all death worlds, feral worlds, industrial worlds, mining worlds, feudal worlds, fortress worlds... you get the idea.

The average human in the Imperium lives in conditions far worse than the average human in the Tau Empire, let alone if you take into account how the other species in the Empire live.

Necrons.


The only ones with a conscious are all nobility.

I specifically said no orks or necrons - they need a sophisticated sense of self-determination not primal urges only or slaves with no conscious.

DorianGray wrote:
I specifically said no orks or necrons - they need a sophisticated sense of self-determination not primal urges only or slaves with no conscious.

Chill dude. I doth be joking.


But for real doh, Necrons have self-determination. They also think they're entitled to the galaxy, so there's that...

Craftworld Eldar. Tau care for their people (well, that is what their leaders -say-, anyway) but each member of their species is not a treasure in the same way as the Eldar are. They have a path system, but it really isn't that bad - it's more like having a job and being really passionate about that job. And when you feel like it, you can always take a trip on the Outcast Path and then return, welcomed with open arms.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 EmpNortonII wrote:
Craftworld Eldar don't get to have sex when they want.

I really, really hope 'standard of living' is more than just sex to you.

While I agree that your average citizen of the Imperium doesn't have a great life I imagine that there are probably a lot of worlds where life isn't too terrible. The majority of the planets never get invaded and the only sign of war they see is when they pay their Imperial Guard tithe. Also the hierarchy of the Imperium is very oppressive but the planets are so disconnected, a lot of them are probably left to run their own affairs. As long as they pay their tithe every X number of years they're left alone.

Maybe I'm just being idealistic but I think there's probably a large number of worlds where life is no worse than what we see on Earth today. Of course there's a lot of squalor and misery on Earth today so I'm probably not strengthening the case much.

Don't care one bit how you interpret self determination and gak, I'd give this to Orks. Their society has answered all it's questions, there is no big racial philosophical struggle. They are happy when fighting. By their standards they are living their dream. Their entire economy and ecology travels and grows from the ground with them so they are never in any true lasting need of essentials and have all the time to pursue their more martial pleasures.

The moment a daemon gains the ability to think and notice itself is enough to get on this list as race in my opinions as well. Not necessarily just the ability to perceive and react to the environment but to also have goal (no matter how alien the goal is to a human mind) is enough for me to interpret self determination. I believe it's Descartes who concluded "I think therefore I am". The ability to hold/change an opinion/goal with or without being persuaded are both equally significant markers in measuring an individual or races self determination and we have plenty examples in the fluff for all the races even the Tyranids.

This is but an opinion though as I am nowhere good enough in philosophy to be able to bring facts to a fantasy game. I can try though =P

On the contrary, you could say the Orks have a terrible standard of living - they are just happiest with it.

The poll only allowed me to vote for craftworld Eldar, but I would agree with a few others here that the Orks have this title cinched.

You're placing your own bias on the list by saying Orks don't get to count. Why not? For the most part, the everyday Ork has:

1. Plenty of food. As their fungus goes with them.
2. Plenty of income. Teeth regrow constantly and are Ork currency.
3. A place in society that they both enjoy and that suits their skills (even "freak" Orks like Mekboys have a place).
4. Comrades that they can count on.
5. A society that gives the Ork exactly what it wants, which is constant warfare.
6. The same society also provides infinite possibility to advance in it, given skill in battle.
7. Religious deities that are identifiable and obviously present.

The bottom line is that Orks are leagues ahead of other societies in terms of unity and happiness on the individual level. The fact that they fight and are visibly dirty and chunky is irrelevant.

I assume the OP simply meant standard of living from our viewpoint.

I can assure you that on Earth, we would not consider a hyper-violent filth-covered society to have a high standard of living, even if its inhabitants say its great.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 curran12 wrote:
The bottom line is that Orks are leagues ahead of other societies in terms of unity and happiness on the individual level.

Also, Tyranids take that one.

 Ashiraya wrote:


Also, Tyranids take that one.

Well, the whole notion of individuals I'd say is debatable. Not that they are not united (they are SUPER united) but does that count if they are, effectively, all the same mind? I can't say I know the answer to this, but it is worth considering.

 curran12 wrote:

 Ashiraya wrote:


Also, Tyranids take that one.

Well, the whole notion of individuals I'd say is debatable. Not that they are not united (they are SUPER united) but does that count if they are, effectively, all the same mind? I can't say I know the answer to this, but it is worth considering.

There's also this.

Read the first sentence under Overview.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Hive_Tyrant#Overview

 curran12 wrote:
The poll only allowed me to vote for craftworld Eldar, but I would agree with a few others here that the Orks have this title cinched.

You're placing your own bias on the list by saying Orks don't get to count. Why not? For the most part, the everyday Ork has:

1. Plenty of food. As their fungus goes with them.
2. Plenty of income. Teeth regrow constantly and are Ork currency.
3. A place in society that they both enjoy and that suits their skills (even "freak" Orks like Mekboys have a place).
4. Comrades that they can count on.
5. A society that gives the Ork exactly what it wants, which is constant warfare.
6. The same society also provides infinity possibility to advance in it, given skill in battle.
7. Religious deities that are identifiable and obviously present.

The bottom line is that Orks are leagues ahead of other societies in terms of unity and happiness on the individual level. The fact that they fight and are visibly dirty and chunky is irrelevant.

Agreed - even Eldar philosphers have said trhe same thing.

I'm of the mind to give Tyranids the nod of individuality. We just need to see the Tyranid individual as something much bigger then conventional wisdom currently suggests. Each fleet seems to carry traits and characteristics that seperate it slightly from the others, well enough that humans can distinguish which tyranids are in which fleet. As an individual I am also made up of more bacteria and living microroganism then I am made of human cells. We are all walking colonies of unthinking living microbes. Yet (for the moment that we know of) it's only us and not the little microbes that exhibit individuality, opinions, goals and self determination. I see the same for each tyranid fleet but the whole thing is on a grander scale then the human body.

 Ashiraya wrote:
I assume the OP simply meant standard of living from our viewpoint.

I can assure you that on Earth, we would not consider a hyper-violent filth-covered society to have a high standard of living, even if its inhabitants say its great.

Happiness, while correlated wtih standard of living, is not the same thing. Standard of living is a fairly objective measure of things such as lifespan, infant mortality, food security, creature comforts, education availability, etc.

Eldar pretty clearly have that wrapped up. In no other society is life so precious, and the investment made into each individual so profound as Eldar society.

Orks might be the most content with their lot, but that's due to their psychology, not their standard of living.

But even if you take their psychology away you have a race that never needs essentials. Their economy and ecology grows from the same spores they grow from. Like some kind of galactic virus that infects things on a planetary scale. Everywhere they go they ultimately turn the planet into something more their liking and this will occur naturally as all kinds of edible fungus and different orkoids, squigs, grots, snotlings grow from the same spores to provide the Orks with everything they need. The entire race is the most successful of the races in no small part due to this amazing feature that is the spores. They won their 'great racial conflict' as an eldar philosopher would put it. They are content, taken care of, and extremely successful, they don't need answers to questions they don't need to ask.

 ProwlerPC wrote:
But even if you take their psychology away you have a race that never needs essentials. Their economy and ecology grows from the same spores they grow from. Like some kind of galactic virus that infects things on a planetary scale. Everywhere they go they ultimately turn the planet into something more their liking and this will occur naturally as all kinds of edible fungus and different orkoids, squigs, grots, snotlings grow from the same spores to provide the Orks with everything they need. The entire race is the most successful of the races in no small part due to this amazing feature that is the spores. They won their 'great racial conflict' as an eldar philosopher would put it. They are content, taken care of, and extremely successful, they don't need answers to questions they don't need to ask.

Sure, but food is only one aspect of standard of living. Another big one is physical security, lifespand, and mortality rates. Orks do not do as well there...

Standard of living is an inherently human concept, which doesn't apply easily to other species. But even with their reduced needs, Orks struggle mightily in many measures of Standard of Living.

 curran12 wrote:
Why not?

Because once you frame it from that perspective the discussion becomes meaningless, as every faction that doesn't know how crappy its life is due to conditioning/lack of self-awareness etc basically tie for it.

If Orks qualify, then Necrons, Tyranids and Daemons would as well. Framing it in a perspective where members of the faction have enough self-awareness to feasibly choose an alternative way of life is the only way to have any kind of objective dialogue. Orks are literally incapable of considering a life-style that's different from the one they're born into, so in that sense their "happiness" is more akin to animal instincts then actual preference and contentment.

edit- It's also worth pointing out that happiness is only one aspect of standard of living. The United States has one of the highest standards of living in the world despite scoring relatively low on the happiness/contentment index. Things like life-span, sanitation, opportunities and technology are all aspects that define standard of living.