[KT89] Disillusioned and Disenfranchised: Part 1 The Financial Juggernaut

Day 1,073, 07:51 • Published in Canada Canada • by Kilgore Trout 89


“I remember a time when...”, this is a phrase I’ve found myself uttering frequently over the last few months. Although it makes me sound like the cranky old man in line at the local Starbuck’s, I realize that the fact that I remember a better time tells volumes about the current state of eCanada. “I remember a time when” is the notion that inspired this series and I know that there are others out there who remember just as well as I do. The focus of this opening article is “I remember a time when it was the idea that mattered, not where it came from”.



The fact that eRepublik is a social game makes our interactions the most important part of playing the game. What makes a country great is people constantly coming up with new ideas and new ways for improving the ways we interact with each other. The problem is that no matter how good an idea is, it cannot be translated into a reality unless it gets exposure. Ask yourself, how do we advertise our ideas? Articles have limited readership, IRC only ever has a handful of people on at a time and most people ignore the forums. We have all taken to using the advertising module to get our ideas out. This is where the tyranny of the Financial Juggernaut is taking its toll on our society.

A Financial Juggernaut is a group or person who amounts of money so great that they can dominate the ad module. To put it plainly, ads cost money and those with money get the most exposure. Have you ever tried to get an ad out during an election? The average congressional candidate can only afford a small amount of gold for one or two ads. On the other hand, the Financial Juggernaut is able to spend vast repositories of gold on as many ads as they want with no impact on their standard of eLiving. For the majority of players, saving up 10 gold requires several days of work unlike the Juggernaut who is able to amass multitudes on money in a short period of time either with a credit card, mass following or through illicit means. What does this mean for eCanada? It means the ideas that get circulated, the articles that get voted to the front page and consequently the people controlling the public discussion will by and large be those chosen by the Juggernauts.



Don’t believe me? On an election day, try to take out an ad for only 1 gold. See how many times you have to refresh the page before you see your ad. I took out three ads of this kind during the congress elections and it took three hours to get my first impression. What dominates on election days are ads from the wealthiest parties and citizens who already have the support of many voters. This leaves new candidates and younger citizens unable to make their voice heard. When was the last time we had significant and meaningful change in eCanada? For the most part, the same people are always in charge and the same people lead the national discussion. So long as the Financial Juggernauts are able to use their wealth to control what messages and ideas are circulated, the status quo will never change. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but we need to look no farther than the 1ronman scandal to see what happens when power goes unquestioned. We need to encourage positive change for eCanada by working to take the power away from the Juggernauts.



How can we do this? How do we help new voices and new ideas find an audience? The answer lies is community building and changing the way in which we vote up articles. When you find an article either through ads, shouts or the front page, don’t immediately vote for it. Don’t vote for an article simply because it was written by a friend or group that you support. Read the article first and if you like the ideas presented, then and only then should you vote it up. In this way, ideas will be promoted not based on where they come from, but rather on their merit. This however is not enough to compete with the Juggernauts who will inevitably continue to use their financial backing to promote themselves. eCanada above all has a strong community and we need to cultivate that. When you find an article that you like, add the author as a friend. If someone comments on your article, add them as a friend. The more friends we have, the more distance our shouts will go. After you vote for a good article, shout the link to your friends or post in on IRC or in forums. If we want to promote new ideas and new ways to improve eCanada, we need to support our thinkers as much as we can.


Now before I inadvertently launch a crusade or find the message of this article detracted from by people defending themselves, I should point out that the Juggernauts are usually not malicious. Some of the most prominent Juggernaut are political parties who bombard the media and ad module with ways to benefit society. When an ad promoting a mentorship program or an article recruiting citizens to an army become prominent, it is often through the acts of a benevolent Juggernaut. These are of course beneficial to the improvement of society and these initiatives should not be taken away from simply because they are promoted by Juggernauts. However what we should recognize is that in these cases, it is the merit of the idea that is beneficial. What we have to avoid is the assumption that because a party presented a good idea, that by extension, all of their ideas are good. We must above all remember to think critically about what is presented to us.



If there is one thing that you take away from this article, is should be the need to evaluate what ideas you choose to support. What is the goal of this ad? What does this article contribute to eCanada? Is this legitimate discourse or simply propaganda and spectacle? Do I support this idea? Would I be willing to share this with my friends? These are the sorts of questions you should ask before you follow an ad or vote for an article. If we support each other as a community and work to place merit about wealth, we stand to gain much as a society. Until next time eCanada, Stay Strong and Carry On!



If you liked this article, be sure to subscribe so you can follow the series. The next article will be on ”The Brand Name Zombie Swarm and will look at the cults of identity that spring up and refuse to die. How are the brand names we identify with controlling our interactions with each other? Do we even understand why we have chosen these brands?