Alright, this is somewhat of a setting question as well. Anyway, in this world I'm writing humanity has been united by the UN which now controls an "empire" which controls several planets in the Milky Way, and the official ideology is one of laissez faire capitalism, globalism, imperialism (against humans and primitive aliens), individualism, and social darwinism (the cultural imperative for the strong to surive and breed, and the poor and weak to die so that the species as a whole can progress). My story concerns veterans of a war between humanity (under the UN) and a horde of technologically advanced alien refugees. Humanity won and wiped out the refugees, but at a huge cost: hubdreds of millions died in the fighting, econmy in tatters, and whole systems destablized or abandoned. Anyway, one of my characters is a former member of the Peacekeepers, the elite, highly trained military force of the UN, and he is also from the illustrious and powerful Dangote family. As one might expect from someone of his background, prior to the war he was a great beleiver in ideals of the UN. But in my story he is a deserter, and I want to have him slowly begin to abandon UN ideals, to become an intellecual dissident. The problem is, I'm having a hard time thinking of an event or series of events which might change the mind of someone so devoted to such a beleif system. I thought maybe he could lose his faith when a bunch of his men are abandoned by the UN, or if their lives are sacrificed needlessly or callously, but wouldn't the death of his lessers simply reinforce his social darwinist beleifs because the died so their betters could live? Besides, wouldn't such a backstory be cliche? Another thing I maybe thought about could be that he either loses faith in the idea of human evolutionary superiority due to the heavy loses the Aliens inflict of the humans. But since humanity won, wouldn't that also reinforce his old beleifs? And what kind of radical should he become? He would be aware of Marxism and Facism, as he was very well educated, but those philosophies are considered outdated in the current setting. Is there some way one could interpret evolutionary theory to reach a different type of ideology?
Why? As in, why would one expect that "from someone of his background"? Don't kids ever rebel against their parents and everything that "their generation" stands for? If he's been exposed to "pinko" liberal sentiments whilst at college, perhaps a girl from his past contacts him somehow and reminds him of the ideals he once believed in.
I understand that you don't want your character to spontaneously change such ingrained beliefs, as that would be like suddenly changing the character's personality, but if someone from the elite wronged him one too many times, he could do this out of spite or hurt feelings. Maybe something can happen where someone he cares deeply about is affected negatively by the higher-ups. Or perhaps he can have an ultimatum from the very start where if a certain something happens, he holds all rights, imagined and real, to drop all loyalties to the governing system. Hope this helps! Note: "i" before "e" except after "c", or when sounded as "ay" as in "neighbor" and "weigh."
It's often referred to as a 'tipping point'; that which causes someone to change their beliefs or direction in life. They happen every day. Probably one of the easiest examples is religion: consider instances where something has happened in one's life that is so dramatic they choose to discard their beliefs or take a sudden interest in the other-worldly. I've changed my views on politics and religion dramatically in my last 30 years. In the case of religion it was more of an acceptance of something I always felt but refused to examine or acknowledge. Perhaps your character has just 'gone with the flow' but has always experienced subtle, nagging doubt.
Keep in mind, though, that even if they have a change of heart, they may still retain a bit of loyalty for the side they just left. They may even feel guilt knowing that they're shooting in the face people they once called comrades, brothers/sisters-in-arms. They may even have to stare them in the face, see the potential hurt and betrayal in their eyes when they see just who killed them. They might never really fully get over the self-doubt of whether or not they're doing the right thing. If I were that character, I would probably be constantly debating with myself on which side was correct, possibly to the very end of the conflict.
You could have him just stuck between the two sides for a while also. Have him struggle with his increasingly rebellious thoughts conflicting with his heavily ingrained ideals, so that it causes a very big struggle within him for a while until he is finally able to leave his ideals behind.
Everything the UN stands for is tyrannical and oppression of freedom. UN was funded by the same people who have created the federal reserve. Have you ever read the UN constitution? It is far opposite of our own. You might want to buy some one world order books because the signs is hidden in plain sight. Their main goal is disarmament; one world government. That is why they have a pistol barrel wrapped as a pretzel. They're dismantling our own country to make it happen. If your problem is your MC changing his ideals is the easiest. He started to question the brainwashing material and became a freedom fighter. It is only radical that is agaisnt the UN belief system.
