Peace is the answer

So I finally ended the war with Greece. We came to a peace treaty where I received more of the spoils. It was interesting to note how I kept waiting to completely annihilate them and rid the world of that empire, but it never happened. I was concerned for a while that I was not playing the game correctly. After some time I made the realization that equally advanced countries have never been entirely enslaved, they have been occupied and lost their rights to the victor but at the end of the war the victor left and they had to rebuild a rather decimated economy. For example France still is considered among the most developed countries but it was once occupied and had to rebuild. I also noticed that at the end we had become so advanced but I don’t feel like the economies were operating at their full potential. Resources were unclaimed and therefore our economies never really soared and we never really had an economically strong country. Some of these resources could be found in the Americas. The Americas were never colonized and therefore natives continued to live their lives but they did not reach the same level of advancement as the rest of the empires that began at around the same time which would not be the case in reality. The natives had such elaborate empires; the game completely ignores that and diminishes them to just violent people just waiting to be taken over. This is a very western and imperialistic view of the world, which I guess is what the view was at the time. But after everyone dominates everyone else the idea of peace and progression is what brings the nation together to improve things, like the economy.

The importance of education

The game of Civilization IV has its focus on the immediate future. Lifetimes of leaders and education do not play a part in the game. This integral part to the actual economy shapes the world we live in and thus it should be included in the game. Looking at the world today, and also looking back at my previous blogs about the importance of culture in society, education, the kinds of leaders, and the duration of the reigns not only can single handedly change the face of the economy.

Education, although measured in the game by points and percentages, has a more direct effect on the real economy. Countries in Asia put a lot of emphasis on having a well educated society and they are among the top economies in the world. This strong correlation between the two is not so clearly shown with the game.

Education is hard to gauge since there is all kinds of education. Trade schools, vocational schools and apprenticeships are now considered “alternatives” to “traditional” four year institutions. Looking at these “alternatives” the immediate economic benefits are seen in that the “alternative students” are in the job market sooner, and developing their income sooner than “traditional students.” Also these students contribute to the national economy by means of paying the taxes and spending the money that other members of the job market do. The real contributors, however, can be found at the four year institutions. These students usually have loans that have some kind of credit attached. By allowing students the opportunity to have money now, to repay later increases their client base because people need a way to pay for college. Usually these are the people who have at least some money who intend on making a lot more money. Increasing their consumer base with these kinds of people gives them faithful clients and through the interest rate, makes their profit.

Not only do lending institutions make money but so does the retail world. “Traditional students,” although typically they have very low incomes, spend a lot of their meager earnings on books, clothes, and other “necessities” for their dorm room. It is so easy to get swept up into the idea that we can buy and have anything, especially with the use of a credit card. Most if not all college students don’t typically have a lot of experience on how to manage a credit card, making us easy targets to spend a lot more than we have and then end up owing a lot more than we have. This situation at first is great for the company, not so much for the consumer. If the consumer bankrupts then the company loses a client and then all the retail stores suffer because that individual can no longer purchase anything but what is absolutely necessary. This was seen after the United States experienced a recession a few years ago and reports were coming out that the consumer market had dipped down even on the busiest shopping day of the year: the day after Thanksgiving. The whole nation had to reevaluate what was necessary and as an educated society these are the types of issues that separates our economy over still developing ones in still developing countries.

It continues...

Ironically despite the fact that I was trying to take over the world I still put forth several UN resolutions and they were all passed. I achieved Universal Suffrage, and open markets to name a few of the global achievements that we championed. I lead the other nations by only a small margin but have overwhelming power and still advocate for peace. As a person I almost feel like a hypocrite but as a nation I feel like we are doing this to survive. Oddly it feels like being the United States, in both the past and present. This mentality reflects our warlike mentality at the moment much like the warlike mentality we have as a nation, in reality and in the game. Certain sects of our government advocate for world peace while others (like the president) are working on a war. This paradox almost makes you wonder about the wellbeing of the world and is it healthy for the economy when you have two competing perspectives that operate as opposites in the economic and political realms. They play such a huge role and so interconnected that what happens in the economic world will affect the political realm, and vice versa. In my game of civilization it is almost like the US entering Iraq, engaging itself in this war, and its work on securing a safe, peaceful environment. But these two competing agendas actually work well together. It diversifies the economy so that goods and services are not solely focused on particular thing. Many countries it seems, especially the losers of wars, focus their entire economy onto the war effort and ignore other once thriving industries that don’t aid this purpose. Recuperating from such a blow to their economy is a long and difficult journey that puts that particular nation at a halt for a little while. At this point there is no challenge to my status that I can basically be acquiring whatever I want without any kind of formidable power strong enough to deal with, much like the United States about 10 years ago.

The war begins!

I know it has been a while but I spent that time concocting a strategy to take over the world. Slowly the idea developed to kill off the weakest empire in the world and then move up the list. The Greek empire lead by Alexander includes a lot of territory but has the least amount of points of all. Also they are loved by almost all the different empires and share a border with our empire. So it has made it easy to invade this empire. I started looking for the strongest city and then breaking it down with overwhelming force, kind of like Hitler in the Second World War to expand his empire. My empire now proudly owns Greece's two strongest cities. Also the feeling of war time has definitely sunk in. When the chance for advancement arises the primary focus is now on developing our military power as opposed to culture or economics. This can prove to be a problem because development of our culture will be halted. This also reminds me of the Western world in the 1930's and 40's. Culture was halted and these societies turned most of their resources to the war effort. Although it stimulates economy for the time being it is after the war that most governments don't prepare for. In the case of the losing parts of the war the demand for artillery lowers and therefore so does the market. The economy needs to pick up where this dead market has left off. Scarcity sets in the job market and unemployment begins to rise. In the examples of Germany, Italy, and the other Axis powers, their resources were so diminished that even today the blow that it took in the 1930's is still somewhat apparent in that they are not as strong as some of their peers in the Western World. The winners, however, acquire more resources and more consumers to stimulate and keep the economy going. This is something that is not being rendered in Civilization IV. A global market nor imperial markets play a role in the game, something that is rather significant in the actual history of the world. Without this key player in the game the limitations of the virtual world are painfully obvious.

RAGE!!!

So today I lost a very dear colony to me in South America. They were strong. They were cultured and they were the hope for the future of a better Roman South America. My hopes and dreams were shattered as Barbarian states came and destroyed the colony. I tried my best to make transatlantic flights and sending of my armies to aid the ailing state. But my efforts were to no avail and I lost dear Caesaugusta. I have never experienced such hate in this game we call Civilization nor such cruelty. From these ashes I have decided to rise and make the world a better place by conquering these weak states that have fostered these barbaric creatures. I will lead them to the right way of living. My far superior technology and empire, though not the largest, far surpasses anything else in that world. And like Alexander the Great, I will sweep across the continent and take over the world! My plan has carefully been devised beginning with all efforts in the major city centers, whose growth has reached a plateau, aimed towards military development. Once my armies have been raised I will first attack the neighboring and weakest empire, the Greek empire lead by none other than Alexander the Great.
Through studying the major empires of history, even present ones, one thing that they all seemed to do wrong was focus on what the other countries and leaders were accomplishing as opposed to what the people needed. I maintained amicable relations with all the empires that I came in contact with. War never arose from our ancient beginnings to our modern ends. Rome was able to gain the trust of the other world leaders, culminating in a Diplomatic Victory. All these nations voted Rome to be the Diplomatic leader of the world. Not only does that give more “unreal” power to this empire, but it also articulates that the other nations are not good enough to be role models for the world. This clearly presents an issue among nations, one I believe could lead to war in my little Utopia. But peace will be restored and equality will return, after I conquer the world.

The Empire

History has always been about the empire. Amassing wealth and gaining total domination over the surrounding areas has defined the greatest cultures in all of history. From the Egyptians to the Mongolians, taking over what you can, when you can has been what has made these daunting empires succeed but also fall.

To fuel an empire you need continual growth. Continual growth usually is found in the form of expanding cities and stronger economic systems. Strong militaries are built up to protect the people on which the empire has been built upon, or the innards of the empire. Keeping up the resources as the empire grows exponentially is what maintains and protects the kingdom. Surplus in resources is what fuels the empire. Colonization and trading is where this surplus usually comes from. For example in the early 1500’s Spain became the strongest empire because of the resources it gained from its colonies in the New World. Slaves cultivated the land so that surplus would feed the ever ravenous machine and people within it. Becoming the most formidable force on the planet, the façade that the top lifestyles are found within the boundaries of that never ending empire is what is presented to the world. This façade is what is first to crumble at the fall of an empire and the festering problems that lay beneath are revealed.

Too much growth becomes the culprit of the fall of an empire. Inflation rises and there are too many people within the domain and not enough surplus to properly feed them all. Economic issues and neglect of the well-being of the empire as a whole and the individual states becomes glaringly apparent when it all falls. After the fall of the Spanish empire it was easy to see that where squander on the colonies and not using them to be self sustaining, caused strife within kingdom causing its infrastructure to fail.

In the game Civilization, keeping the balance of giving each city enough attention individually as well as collectively gets really hard. Everything seems to be happening at once and it becomes blur as to what is going on where. This is where the democratic system succeeds. Allowing every city the option of doing what it believes is best for that particular city’s economy, while maintaining loyalty to the tyrant, has truly helped in becoming the best civilization in the world. By automating the workers and the other city processes it is to their discretion as to what needs to be worked on, as they are the only ones that can truly know what really needs to be done. In current history, this technique has the better lasting power. Empires like the Soviet Union, and the Austro-Hungarian Empires have long disappeared in the face of these kinds of governments and ways of dealing with things. Giving the people a voice allow for them to aid in the developing process and can keep tabs on growth, better than a tyrant can from a palace far away from his subjects. Allowing for natural growth and letting it happen as a decision by the city or province as opposed to a concerted effort by the king has proven to be the best method of building an empire.

My empire started in Rome the great city of which much of our society has derived its beginnings. I chose this starting point because of its central location and its access to the ocean making sea travel and advancement much easier. When it came time to develop any part of the empire I alternated a focus on science, economy, and culture because looking at other successful empires the did not focus on only one aspect of the empire, and if they did it often led to negelct on other parts making it easier for it to crumble from within, starting with the economy. Other empires have been amicable towards our empire and therefore no wars have broken out to destroy our advancements. War also is a catalyst for decline in that all the resources are used for defense or for war like purposes allowing for everything else to fall into disarray.
I have the far superior empire making life so far rather easy. Also with having the most advanced nation by keeping the balance of economy, culture, military and science, our technology is far superior since we have circumnavigated the world and have traded our technology with other surrounding nations. The proximity in which these empires exisit is a large concern because it has forced everyone to advance as quickly as possible and without a regard for the greater populus.
Looking at the game as a reflection of history it is apparent that peaceful nations have been able to develop quitely and produce great amounts advancements. Unfortunately, I am painfully aware that even through great advancements it is necessary for a war to improve further.