Well, if the Empire is as stupid and well, stupid, as portrayed in the movies, games, novels etc. it's not strange how the rebel alliance won against it. **** i don't like this simplistic Good VS Evil and Good always wins over the über-stupid bad-guys.
Well, Star Wars is fairly unapologetically a fable but it isn't a bad fable.
The Rebel Alliance is inclusive and meritocratic, while the Empire expends its effort on disposing of undesirables. As such, a Rebel starship captain is the best starship captain around, while an Imperial captain is probably the son of an imperial bigwig and chosen more for having the correct political beliefs than his ability to fight a starship.
The Rebels are honest and determined, while the Empire is corrupt and selfish. Hence, much of the Imperial military budget is syphoned off in to the pockets of bent officials, and imperials are more interested in syphoning off bribes in to their own pockets than they are in doing their jobs.
Innovation. Flexibility, Hope, Respect. Not narrow mindedness, fanaticism and Fear. Not a bad way to live your life.
Well if anyone stated that Star Wars was bad, I don't think they would be here to begin with.
I do feel though that the movies and most of the canon at large makes Star Wars into a simplistic view of Good VS Evil, which is a completely boring setting that provokes me as a player. It is impossible to live into the setting and be a member of the Galaxy if the main conflict is between the red-shirt, oh sorry, white armored galactic empire of evulz for the lulz, versus the good guy Greg rebel alliance.
The Rebels are surely both meritocratic and inclusive in some way. They don't have the bureaucracy and manpower to have it another way really. They need all the people they can get and promote the few smugglers and scoundrels they have to Generals because of a little combat experience. But yes most likely they have the best pilots and captains for their ship they could have access to.
The Empire's fleet and armies consist of billions of men and women serving to the empire by free will, many if not most of them defending the ideals and values on which the Empire founded itself. The Empire fights for a cause as much as the rebels and their cause is legit and democratically elected in the final days of the republic. I believe and get the feeling that the lower levels of imperial bureaucracy works mostly fine and their military and fleet consist of able men and women fighting their cause and works very much like a meritocracy whereas the upper government from governor, moff and up is the wholeheartedly corrupted empire with great nepotism in where the emperor puts his personal favorites on those roles.
On the whole, i picture my Empire a lot more like modern day United States, if they where more global ( yes, more global) mixed in with the Roman empire with the foreign policy of the British Empire. They are bad yes, but not evil.
The Rebel alliance on the other hand are modern day terrorists and freedom fighters, that actually seems to be able to found their alliance on democratic values and ideals, but their ideology does not cover the extent of their enemies.
/Poseur, not actually sure what I wanted to say