LogFAQs > #974426109

Not knowing much about star wars lore, it was because the empire was a generic imperialist dictatorship that was just interested in conquering and ethnic cleansing, as they viewed non-human races as inferior and often enslaved them. Sometimes it was in reference to Nazi Germany, sometimes it was in reference to American imperialism.

The rebels were pro-democracy. The Jedi were basically liberals who were complacent and helped push Anakin to the dark side with their rules.

You can sum it all up by looking at Papatine, who at the end of the day had no real ideology or goals beyond more power.