Utopian politics

[altivo]

Following the example set by schnee, I have created my own little utopian nation state:

The Principality of Transmontania

This site is a sort of loose simulation of macroeconomics and international politics. I suspect the model is slanted toward capitalist objectivism as the inevitable conqueror of all, but I've always been one to buck the tide. The idea seems rather like the board game Diplomacy® except the interactions are based not on military competition but on economics.

Within minutes of having my application validated, I started receiving "telegrams" from leaders of various regions urging me to throw my allegiance with them. The enticements offered were all power and financial gain, which isn't going to interest me. There is no formal method for military attack or conquest in the game, though I guess some nation states have been engaging in that anyway, via roleplay.

The basic direction of change in the nation state, though, is determined by "issues" which are presented one or two each day. You decide on an official policy for each issue (or decide to ignore it, as governments so often do) and the effect on your nation is projected on that basis. The first issue was whether voting would be mandatory for all who are qualified to vote. There were four possible choices: the vote is mandatory, the vote is voluntary, the government ignores popular ballots, or take no action at all on the issue and let the controversy rage in the newspapers where it began.

No doubt some will find this distasteful, but... I rejected the mandatory ballot, though I affirm that Transmontania is a parliamentary democracy, with a constitution and a very limited ruler-for-life called a prince. The title of prince is not hereditary, but is an appointed one, which is confirmed by a vote of the parliament. Each prince or princess chooses a successor, with the agreement of the parliamentary representatives. Should a ruler die or resign without having successfully named and confirmed a successor, then parliament itself would choose the next prince with two stipulations: the ruler must not be a current voting member of parliament itself, and they must be a qualified citizen voter within the principality. The prince has veto powers over legislation, similar to those of the US President, and subject to override by a substantial majority of parliament, also like the US system. The prince may propose legislation, but it must pass the unicameral parliament successfully in order to become law. In all other respects, the prince has no real powers, but may wield tremendous influence if he/she is clever enough. In other respects the government resembles that of most existing parliamentary nations. There are several political parties, the prime minister is chosen by the members of the parliamentary body and may have to head a coalition government if no party has a clear majority, etc.

The economy of Transmontania is largely agrarian, and its limited international trade consists of the export of natural and synthetic fibers (wool, linen, tencel) and related products.

We shall see what happens. I fully expect the "issues" to be weighted so that even a moderately socialist state will fall upon hard times.

Comments

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an interesting social experiment.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The list of United Nations resolutions makes interesting reading. Some are pretty much what you might expect, but others are very much off the wall. There have been 231 resolutions passed to date, including some that repealed earlier ones. As I understand it, nations who want to remain as voting members of the UN must abide by these resolutions as passed. The only other option they would have would be to resign from the UN (or wait and be expelled.)

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

I dabbled with the NationStates thing a while back. I was mainly having some fun with it and figured it wasn't so much realistic as it was a window into its author's beliefs.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think that is the case. I haven't read his books, but from the excerpts and commentary, I also suspect that he and I disagree much of the time.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

I tried that a long time ago and got fed up with
the instant, "Join My Faction!" messages.

I can see the appeal of the Late Great Planet Earth
types or the "We will be the only enlightend deep
ecologists left in paradise" sorts. But unfortunetly
real life is all about those "telegrams" and how to
manage/manipulate them to at least make your world
a better place, if not a Utopia.

Utopians are scary. XD

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The telegrams are so slimy I swear they were dipped in oil before sending.

The more interesting element of the game is the "issues" that are automatically presented to you for a decision, one each day. Now that I've handled a few, I see how they are starting to affect the status of my little domain. It's quite clear that the results of these decisions are designed to enforce the notions of the game's author, rather than to imitate real life.

I declined to enforce mandatory voting in elections, agree to allow same sex marriage on the same terms as heterosexual privilege, and chose to ignore complaints that taxes are too high, which were apparently coming from people who wanted to stop all tax support for education and health care but increase government subsidies for private businesses.

Transmontania's ratings on civil and political liberty have improved to "above average" as a result, but the economy is considered "developing" only. I fully expect the next issue or two to try to force me to favor destruction of the natural environment in order to improve economic growth...

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I remember doing this :D I ended up with a decent little country :)