eIrish University's School of Individualist Studies Is Now Open!

Day 2,037, 14:24 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by Arjay Phoenician III

You’re counted as a reader, you might as well vote!



This is the mission statement for the Individualist Society. Today it makes its public debut in Ireland at the School of Individualist Studies, located on the ivy-walled campus of eIrish University. Very special thanks to Anthony Colby and Mike Bane for giving us the space, and to my good friend, MaryamQ, who stayed up with me the last few nights, helping me put this together.

It is a work in progress, but there are a few items posted that might interest you, so stop on by.

eIrish University

Mission Statement for the Individualist Society:

The world of eRepublik has long held the nearly-singular notion that knowledge of game mechanics is the only virtue worth pursuing, that complete obedience must be given to country and alliance, and that every resource a citizen has (time, energy, weapons, gold, newspapers, and any other personal asset) must be used to support group play.

Somewhere along the way, the individual gets lost in the shuffle. He is, in most cases in this world, a pawn, enjoying the benefits of living a life without challenging authority or asserting his personal independence. While many players might be satisfied with living such a life in this game, there are those—probably more than you think—who know in their hearts there is more to this world than war.

The mission of this society is to embrace the individual, first and foremost. There are so many avenues for a person to celebrate himself within group settings; we seek to celebrate him, completely in his own right. We wish to explore ways to encourage citizens to put more of their efforts into creating an interior life (arts, friends, personal explorations, etc.) and pay less attention to the many entities tying up their exterior life (political parties, military units, countries, alliances, etc.).

By putting less emphasis on game mechanics and more on internal development, we believe the philosophy of individualism will not only give citizens a more full and satisfying game experience, but it will ultimately change the course of this world’s history. Once people realize they are not robots only valued for their loyalty to their national or alliance masters, once they know there is more to this game than racking up battle damage, they will explore this world for themselves, unshackled, awake, and liberated.

This society is going to do things different. Our very name, the Individualist Society, is an oxymoron, showing the conflict a person has between his social duties and his personal desires. It becomes folly to think we can pursue the philosophy of individualism, then round people up and convince them to follow orders within a group. We think we have something decent and necessary to talk about, but it will go against the very things we stand for if we go the traditional eRepublikan route—create a forum, assign officers, set up meetings, organize for action—and expect people to take us seriously. We would be called hypocrites, or at least people will point at the glaring contradiction and laugh. Hence, we’re going to try a different route to make individualism an accepted worldwide philosophy.

Having its first home on the campus of eIrish University is part of the route. By beginning in an academic setting, instead of political or military, we hope it will draw people from all over the world who can set their national or alliance loyalties aside. We hope this will be a win-win-win; visitors will have a comfortable experience, the university will see more activity, and the philosophy of individualism will have a home.

It is a work in progress. By all means, if you have questions, ask. We aren’t, and hopefully never will be, a regimented organization. As much as we can, we will remain loose and open-minded, thoughtful and fluid.

Thank you, and by all means, be yourself.

~Arjay.


Belfast Lough Times: Issue #24