[SP Party President Speech] Our Party and its Future
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by stancel
It's been a while since my last article. First things first, Alfred Ball won the Presidential elections. Now NFA holds all the power. According to our new President, the SP is "falling apart". Alfred has been engaging in some Machiavellian tactics apparently against the SP. But that is not to demonize him, just to highlight the state of animosity that has existed for some time between the SP and NFA.
I feel it necessary to explain the position of the SP in Austria. Formerly called the People's Socialist Party, I led the name change, which has been so far successful. The name is perhaps the most apparent indicator of a party's nature, apart from its political orientation. These two things are what most new members see when looking at the different parties.
Game Mechanics?
in an objection to socialism, some may bring up that it is an RL ideology and that capitalism is part and parcel of the eRepublik experience. I don't deny that the way the game is set up at this moment (though I am hoping for new possibilities in the upcoming economic module in V2) is biased towards capitalism. However, even at this moment there are ways to move beyond the capitalist system. In the beginning, some experiments will make mistakes, be prone to managerial bureaucracy, but over time, with the most democratic form of workers' self-management, the communes can be deemed successful in the purpose they serve.
Many would say that it is just a game. Therefore it should be okay to gain huge profits as a capitalist, create huge empires, and secure more power and fame for oneself. I do admit that is a powerful argument. But at the same time, we have a game. I do not see how socialism should be any different than our resident right-wing "nationalists" (I would hope that many of the NFA are not as extreme and abrasive as the core leadership). And just as they are nationalists, we are internationalists. Just as they are the right, we are the left.
Politics are essential
Some would hold that the best politics in this game are apolitical. But that is impossible. No political party, except for the most inactive ones, is devoid of politics.
I think the important thing to remember is that the SP's incomplete political development is no reason to write it off. That it finds itself opposed to much larger, much more powerful forces should be of no consequence. That it shares only a fraction of the power and that it must struggle hard to stay afloat merely means the struggle is more worthwhile.
The center and right parties have failed to deliver Austria out of what can only be called "a quagmire of ideas". We have seen it. The conservatism of the government in all matters. Feeble refusals to spend (very few MPPs, only one hospital, etc), to boost the nation up, its people, and its position in the world. Congress only becomes a status symbol, rarely is anything of substance ever done.
There are over 500 people in eAustria. Think about that. Beyond this core of very active players, perhaps a few dozen in number, hundreds of other people exist. It should be our responsibility, those with power or position, to actually do things of substance for them.
I feel that our national atmosphere has become one of constant formality, repetition, and boredom. Almost like a void. Why do you think I left for a short while? I felt completely powerless. Despite being Party President of a top 5 party and a member of Congress I felt completely powerless. Imagine how others, in smaller positions, feel? Of course, they will climb the ladder of government, but they too, will discover that beyond the medals awarded, no capacity to change comes with it. We are all just personalities, guardians of our own political cults, drifting along the void.
The SP was mocked for only gaining 2 seats last time. What difference would it have made, if we have gotten one or two more? The point is, we are a different party in our beliefs. We do not need to compare how many little green men we have on our party page compared to the titans of political hegemony. What matters is that this party is different, and that is why we persevere. We could just as easily disband if we cared about the same things that some of our shallow politicians apparently do.
Your loyal comrade,
Stancel
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Comments
"Machiavellianism is a term that some social and personality psychologists use to describe a person's tendency to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain."
Is this what you are calling me or trying to say?
Go stancel!
Stancel, do not leave. Continue to persevere.
alfred, do you have what we call "coda di paglia"?
Yes eMum my conscience is very heavy what do I do 🙁
I don't see why there couldn't be a great place for socialist ideas in the Austrian political/economic sphere. Maybe it's first a matter of finding the right niche?
And just as they are nationalists, we are internationalists.
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I do believe the NFA is internationalist as well...? Perhaps you meant a different word, but internationalism is certainly not mutually exclusive of nationalism.
Feeble refusals to spend (very few MPPs, only one hospital, etc)
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With only 500 people in the nation, we only need one hospital. There is no benefit of spreading out our populations and, in fact, that lowers the wall in the capital would be detrimental to the defence of any invasion. As for MPPs, they are quite expensive at 100 gold each, and being a neutral country, they're not as necessary as if we were surrounded by enemies. As it is we're on friendly relations with all of our neighbors, even eHungary isn't aggressive towards us anymore. The gold is much better spent training our citizens, funding health drives, etc.