History Main / SlidingScaleOfSocialSatisfaction

* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Classifying Magix is tricky because of the continuous soft reboots. From seasons 1 to 4, it's a solid "Sweet with a Helping of Sour". Lingering problems such as political betrothals, poverty, and civil wars are mostly only alluded to as the conflicts stem from power-hungry individuals, but they exist nonetheless. Magix is mostly a very good place to live in -- magic and technology fuse to make things such as interplanetary travel or repairing buildings extremely easy. Earth, meanwhile, it's the "True Neutral" it is in real life, therefore giving the impression that magic does make things better, albeit not perfect. From season 5 onward, the aforementioned lingering problems are not even mentioned anymore. Villains (the Trix and Tritannus) can still be veritable menaces but society is essentially a SugarBowl at this point. This is {{lampshaded}} with the art style shift in season 8 and the fact most of the clashes against the villains are solved without involving violence.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** The city of Ba Sing Se, considered the best-protected sanctuary, operates on "Outside is Burning, Inside is Safe". The city makes sure everyone inside is safe from the war (how well depends on social class), but mentioning the war is prohibited, and don't cross the Dai Li, the inner police, or they will brainwash you or make you disappear.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheraAndThePrincessesOfPower'': The Horde is "Knowledge is Forbbiden". Orphaned kids are abducted very young to be brainwashed into thinking the magic-wielding princesses are evil and must be eliminated so Etheria can prosper. This is how Hordak and Shadow Weaver justify waging war on the otherwise pacific and idyllic population centers of the planet. Of course, most cadets realize this crude reality after they've been deployed for a while. Some of them even earlier. However, they feel they owe the Horde too much and/or that the Rebellion won't accept them. This mentality is quite poignant in Adora's change of heart -- she honestly didn't know the Horde attacked civilians for basically no reason.
* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': Classifying Magix is tricky because of the continuous soft reboots.
** From seasons 1 to 4, it's a solid "Sweet with a Helping of Sour". Lingering problems such as political betrothals, poverty, and civil wars are mostly only alluded to as the conflicts stem from power-hungry individuals, but they exist nonetheless. Magix is mostly a very good place to live in -- magic and technology fuse to make things such as interplanetary travel or repairing buildings extremely easy. Earth, meanwhile, it's the "True Neutral" it is in real life, therefore giving the impression that magic does make things better, albeit not perfect.
** From season 5 onward, the aforementioned lingering problems are not even mentioned anymore. Villains (the Trix and Tritannus) can still be veritable menaces but society is essentially a SugarBowl at this point. This is {{lampshaded}} with the art style shift in season 8 and the fact most of the clashes against the villains are solved without involving violence.

Note that this is a [[YMMV/HomePage Your Mileage May Vary trope]] for a reason. Not everyone will rate fictional societies in this exact order. Some may consider the most freedom-oriented regimes more favorable while others may prefer those where resources are more homogeneously distributed. Or place the same media work in different categories, depending on their personal take.

Note that this is a [[{{YMMV}} Your Mileage May Vary]] trope for a reason. Not everyone will rate fictional societies in this exact order. Some may consider the most freedom-oriented regimes more favorable while others may prefer those where resources are more homogeneously distributed. Or place the same media work in different categories, depending on their personal take.

** From seasons 1 to 4, it's a solid "Sweet with a Helping of Sour". Lingering problems such as bethrotals, poverty, and civil wars are mostly only alluded to as the conflicts stem from power-hungry individuals, but they exist nonetheless. Magix is mostly a very good place to live in -- magic and technology fuse to make things such as interplanetary travel or repairing buildings extremely easy. Earth, meanwhile, it's the "True Neutral" it is in real life, therefore giving the impression that magic does make things better, albeit not perfect.

* '''Sweet with a Helping of Sour''' (aka SugarBowl Worlds) -- The world is a beautiful place, both in terms of living conditions and aesthetics. Especially the second. It's not exempt from the occasional problem, though. The difference with the level above is that the issues are not hidden from the general population.

* ''Fanfic/{{Paradoxus}}'': Magix starts off as "Too Happy to Care". Thanks to the Winx Club, the villains with bad publicity have been disposed of. However, there are still plenty of [[VillainWithGoodPublicity villains with good publicity]] -- namely, the power-hungry Council of Magix and more than a few of corrupt noblemen. Alone, they are no threat that most of the royal-born heroes couldn't deal with (so Magix would be the "Sweet with a Helping of Sour" that it is in canon). If you insert a Demon Lady borrowed from [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft another dimension]] into the equation, you get those small-fry villains working their butts off to allow her to enter Magix, weakening its militaristic system (sabotaging the magical schools), and luring its population into a false sense of security. When the Burning Legion invades it, most of Magix rapidly degenerates into "Hell On Earth", with the war zones ranging from extinct-by-Fel {{Unholy Ground}}s (like Solaria and Isis) to devastated, politically unstable realms (like Domino). The regions lucky enough to have held their ground maintain a perilously fragile "Outside is Burning, Inside is Safe".

%%* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePony'': "Sweet with a Helping of Sour".
%%* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': "Sweet with a Helping of Sour".

* '''Heaven On Earth''' -- It can be achieved through multiple means but the consensus is that it has the best from the previous levels plus veritable freedom, access to knowledge, and politicians are honest. In some utopias, benevolent [[AritificialIntelligence AIs]] run everything, so nobody has to work. In others, people only work in what they love, not needing to concern themselves about money. There's both freedom and safety.

* ''Fanfic/{{Paradoxus}}'': Magix starts off as "Too Happy to Care". Thanks to the Winx Club, the villains with bad publicity have been disposed of. However, there are still plenty of [[VillainWithGoodPublicity villains with good publicity]] -- namely, the power-hungry Council of Magix and more than a few of corrupt noblemen. Alone, they are no threat that most of the royal-born heroes couldn't deal with (so Magix would be the "Sweet with a Helping of Sour" that it is in canon). If you insert a Demon Lady borrowed from [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft another dimension]] into the equation, you get those small-fry villains working their butts off to allow her to enter Magix, weakening its militaristic system (sabotaging the magical schools), and luring its population into a false sense of security. When the Burning Legion invades it, most Magix rapidly degenerates into "Hell On Earth", with the war zones ranging from extinct-by-Fel {{Unholy Ground}}s (like Solaria and Isis) to devastated, politically unstable realms (like Domino). The regions lucky enough to have held their ground maintain a perilously fragile "Outside is Burning, Inside is Safe".

* ''Film/AClockworkOrange'': "Peak of Crime". The government finds itself unable to curb the rampant street crime in England. Young people are particularly prone to violence and unhinged, with the protagonist being the boss of a gang, the "Droogs", who terrorize the suburbs.

* ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech'': "Outside is Burning, Inside is Safe". Life in the {{Arcolog|y}}ies is quite good because of the fact they are safe heavens in a ravaged world and thanks to [[{{Magitek}} archanotech]] that provides advanced healthcare which includes psychiatric care for essential workers. Alas, there's [[HopelessWar Aeon War]] on the outside and while the government is the only thing protecting humanity from cosmic horrors, it's a PoliceState.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': "Outside is Burning, Inside is Safe".

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': "Outside is Burning, Inside is Safe". The Hidden Leaf village can be seen this way since it purports itself to be the least cruel and inhuman of the ninja village. Which it is, to an extent, scheming elders and incompetent leaders notwithstanding. Additionally, it's the richest and most powerful of them. However, given it's a militaristic state, its ninja get up to morally dubious means to ensure that -- they sabotage other villages and the Hokage is just short of being a dictator who can sentence death penalty and [[spoiler: even the genocide of one of the Clans]]. And that's not counting the "hired assassins and mercenaries" business that defines every ninja village.

* '''Heaven On Earth''' -- It can be achieved through multiple means but the consensus is that it has the best from the previous levels plus veritable freedom, access to knowledge, and politicians are honest. In some utopias, benevolent {{AI}}s run everything, so nobody has to work. In others, people only work in what they love, not needing to concern themselves about money. There's both freedom and safety.