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Is It Life Imitating Art Imitating Life?
Is it life imitating art or art imitating life?
As eRepublik celebrates its second birthday, it is worth taking a step back to have a look at this game from a sociological perspective.
It is first critical to understand that eRepublik is an arena in which RL citizens have the opportunity to create a new society. I theorize that the initial thought process is that this new society will be a form of utopia in which the problems of mainstream RL are minimized or altogether removed. Is this truly plausible though in game in which RL people are asked to accomplish this? I do not believe it is possible. In my short term observations, I have clearly seen political, cultural and class related issues steadily creeping into the game to a point where I question whether eCanada is merely an extension of RL Canada, and not necessarily a newer, better Canada. Why do I say that? Lets explore.
There was a great potential for eRep to create a culture of utopian ideals. A society in which poverty and misery were missing. The problem here is that the operators of the game, the citizens, are the same people who currently live in a world where poverty and misery are abundant. By natural extension, their most primitive instincts force them to bring those ideals into the game despite a clear and present opportunity to do otherwise. Almost immediately we have countries trying to conquer other countries and take over the world. Wars break out, for both social and political reasons. We end up in WWIII in an effort to attempt to stop the madness. Resistance wars break out, sneak attacks continue...it never ends. There is huge potential for the nations of this game to create peace and harmony, to open trade relations as opposed to war mongering. Poverty and misery are rampant with many new citizens struggling to feed themselves and remain self-sufficient. Yes there are social programs available but really, they mimic the same social programs that exist in RL Canada, and are plagued by the same issues of bureaucracy and at times mismanagement.
What then of social status? Within eRep there existed the opportunity to attain polyculturalism but that never happened. Instead we slipped into old familiar roles whereby we established a social order. One in which a citizen’s social status is gauged by the number of “extra’s” listed under their in game signature. Indeed, the more extra’s one has, the further up the social order that individual is and is regarded. The new player, with no extra’s to his/her name is relegated as a “two clicker” or “newb”. Further, the “two clicker” is forced to seek employment in a virtual sweat shop where wages are barely enough to feed ones self let alone do much of anything else. The “two clicker” carries on this way until a socially superior individual comes along and attempts to mentor or assist the socially inferior player. Once this connection is made and experience is gained, the new player quicky begins the ascend the social ladder, becoming more involved and then begins the process of perpetuating the same events. Over time the new player adds more and more extra’s after their signature, but only if they are socially adept. Clearly, a strong social game is critical to success.
On the same hand, power within eRep seems to be rather centralized with a handful of key “power brokers” holding superior positions. These power brokers are sought after by lesses lights in an effort to break into this upper social echelon. eRep presented a fine opportunity to defeat the ingrained political customs of centralized power but the exact opposite occurred. Why is this? Again, we must tie back to the social phenomenon that is RL. In RL as well as in eLife, ego is still a prominent driver of social decisions. Power and prestige are drugs that are not commonly available to the everyday person in RL, but in eRep, the dealers are at every corner, and the fixes come fast and furious. Instead of decentralizing power, and sharing the ego with the greater public, the power is held among a chosen few who serve as the gatekeepers to the exclusive social elitist club. Is this a bad thing? some would say yes and some would say no. Clearly, someone needs to be making the decisions and someone needs to have control over the country, but Utopia, its not.
Indeed, eRep is this generations Garden of Eden. There was an opportunity to avoid eating the forbidden fruit and yet not only did we eat, we feasted. The lessons of the past, are lost on us in this virtual civilization. Paradise is lost and I fear the only way to find it is to wait for the future, for a shift in the power brokerage that might move us closer to the Golden Age of eRep.
We need a new socially equitable future and a new sustainable paradigm to operate in. As the elections come, I wonder if our future leaders have the wherewithal to begin the painstaking search for it.
Your thoughts are welcomed and encouraged...
Yours In National Unity,
Acacia Mason
As eRepublik celebrates its second birthday, it is worth taking a step back to have a look at this game from a sociological perspective.
It is first critical to understand that eRepublik is an arena in which RL citizens have the opportunity to create a new society. I theorize that the initial thought process is that this new society will be a form of utopia in which the problems of mainstream RL are minimized or altogether removed. Is this truly plausible though in game in which RL people are asked to accomplish this? I do not believe it is possible. In my short term observations, I have clearly seen political, cultural and class related issues steadily creeping into the game to a point where I question whether eCanada is merely an extension of RL Canada, and not necessarily a newer, better Canada. Why do I say that? Lets explore.
There was a great potential for eRep to create a culture of utopian ideals. A society in which poverty and misery were missing. The problem here is that the operators of the game, the citizens, are the same people who currently live in a world where poverty and misery are abundant. By natural extension, their most primitive instincts force them to bring those ideals into the game despite a clear and present opportunity to do otherwise. Almost immediately we have countries trying to conquer other countries and take over the world. Wars break out, for both social and political reasons. We end up in WWIII in an effort to attempt to stop the madness. Resistance wars break out, sneak attacks continue...it never ends. There is huge potential for the nations of this game to create peace and harmony, to open trade relations as opposed to war mongering. Poverty and misery are rampant with many new citizens struggling to feed themselves and remain self-sufficient. Yes there are social programs available but really, they mimic the same social programs that exist in RL Canada, and are plagued by the same issues of bureaucracy and at times mismanagement.
What then of social status? Within eRep there existed the opportunity to attain polyculturalism but that never happened. Instead we slipped into old familiar roles whereby we established a social order. One in which a citizen’s social status is gauged by the number of “extra’s” listed under their in game signature. Indeed, the more extra’s one has, the further up the social order that individual is and is regarded. The new player, with no extra’s to his/her name is relegated as a “two clicker” or “newb”. Further, the “two clicker” is forced to seek employment in a virtual sweat shop where wages are barely enough to feed ones self let alone do much of anything else. The “two clicker” carries on this way until a socially superior individual comes along and attempts to mentor or assist the socially inferior player. Once this connection is made and experience is gained, the new player quicky begins the ascend the social ladder, becoming more involved and then begins the process of perpetuating the same events. Over time the new player adds more and more extra’s after their signature, but only if they are socially adept. Clearly, a strong social game is critical to success.
On the same hand, power within eRep seems to be rather centralized with a handful of key “power brokers” holding superior positions. These power brokers are sought after by lesses lights in an effort to break into this upper social echelon. eRep presented a fine opportunity to defeat the ingrained political customs of centralized power but the exact opposite occurred. Why is this? Again, we must tie back to the social phenomenon that is RL. In RL as well as in eLife, ego is still a prominent driver of social decisions. Power and prestige are drugs that are not commonly available to the everyday person in RL, but in eRep, the dealers are at every corner, and the fixes come fast and furious. Instead of decentralizing power, and sharing the ego with the greater public, the power is held among a chosen few who serve as the gatekeepers to the exclusive social elitist club. Is this a bad thing? some would say yes and some would say no. Clearly, someone needs to be making the decisions and someone needs to have control over the country, but Utopia, its not.
Indeed, eRep is this generations Garden of Eden. There was an opportunity to avoid eating the forbidden fruit and yet not only did we eat, we feasted. The lessons of the past, are lost on us in this virtual civilization. Paradise is lost and I fear the only way to find it is to wait for the future, for a shift in the power brokerage that might move us closer to the Golden Age of eRep.
We need a new socially equitable future and a new sustainable paradigm to operate in. As the elections come, I wonder if our future leaders have the wherewithal to begin the painstaking search for it.
Your thoughts are welcomed and encouraged...
Yours In National Unity,
Acacia Mason
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"It is impossible to overlook the extent to which civilization is built upon a renunciation of instinct."
-Sigmund Freud
Wow ...! This is a great article, we share many of the same observations. After reading it, I feel naive to be entering my politics without the mentorship and support of the establishment, but it is worth a shot LOL
Indeed, very insightful article. To have some analysis of the model instead of the players within it is so refreshing. Critical analysis is something the eCan media could do much more with.
That being said, can it not be agreed that games are a simplistic reflection of the world they are played in? You have shown that we bring our RL baggage into the game, in the form of ego, social hierarchies, bureaucratic elites, etc. Thus, if this is the case, could Erepublik ever have been the utopia you mentioned?
@ Salty
And that my friend is the at the crux of my argument. Is it life imitating art imitating life? Are we so socially confined that we are unable to break free of our RL cultural mores to try and find a better way? I think that this could have been so much more but as you have already eloquently stated, this game is a simplistic reflection of the world we play in. I just can not feel as though we are all merely puppets on a big electronic stage, when we could have been so much more. Perhaps I place too much faith in humanity...maybe I should just accept that misery, greed, and ego are simply cohesive parts of the Human Condition.
"By natural extension, their most primitive instincts force them to bring those ideals into the game despite a clear and present opportunity to do otherwise. Almost immediately we have countries trying to conquer other countries and take over the world."
True, but it is an interesting, if not heartening, to see countries and alliances with fundamentally good intentions rise in power, and those whose intentions have turned evil collapse in on themselves.
For example, PEACE GC started as an alliance to defend weak and downtrodden nations. It lost its moral compass as it began to employ fear and domination. What followed was a rapid decline and collapse.
Perhaps this is an encouraging commentary on real life.
@ Unum
Good point, but I think the Peace GC model speaks to the point that "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely"
I am encouraged to see that Peace GC fell though to me, it merely reflects what has happened to so many other military alliances turned bad...what started out as something positive on the outside, quickly rotted to evil as the drug of choice, "Power" was ingested.
History is riddled with examples of this...WWII is a classic example in my mind.
Good points...lets keep the dialogue rolling!
Acadia, great article.
While I agree many of the things you bring up stem form the RL thought processes the players bring to the game, I'd suggest the structure of the game itself encourage this to some degree.
The fact that new players must gain levels to access certain abilities or pay to unlock them immediately creates a two tier system which is very non-utopian. Add to that the fact that one of the quickest ways to gain experiance is through fighting in wars and we have the perfect mix for global strife and conflict.
I don't disagree that there is great potential to grow in this game and become a better society, but I'd argue that it takes a great deal of courge and vision to do so. Many will need leaders to guide them down that path, so I ask who will be those leaders?
People are people, even if they're RPG people - utopia would have been really boring anyways - Hell on earth, repelling those Huns was funner and somebody somewhere is going to raise some more hell to break the boredom eventually
And BTW, on the "sweatshop wages", employees wages are as juiced up as ever while prices are crashing and business owners are losing money - if I didn't enjoy the challenge, I'd mothball things and go make more money as an employee for someone else's company
Great work
Johnny ForReal said "Add to that the fact that one of the quickest ways to gain experiance is through fighting in wars and we have the perfect mix for global strife and conflict."
Fair comment, but look at the real life parallel. "One of the quickest ways to gain [land, wealth, power, you name it] is through fighting in wars and we have the perfect mix for global strife and conflict."
Ironic, isn't it.
Of course, there's a huge difference between an abusive, profitable war and a brutal, devastating absolute war. However, eRepublik doesn't really have quite as effective a means of dealing raw economic destruction as we have in real life.
“The seven deadly sins... food, clothing, firing, rent, taxes,respectability and children. Nothing can lift those seven millstones from man's neck but money; and the spirit cannot soar until the millstones are lifted.”
--Bernard Shaw
I really liked your ideas in this well written and thought out piece of e-theory. The seven millstones Shaw describes have basically been lifted from the necks of eRep citizens. Food, taxes, and housing are our biggest concerns but there is no abject poverty to be found here if you work steadily and buy smart. It may be challenging to raise money but I don't think anyone suffers from over-taxation, hunger, or eviction.
The only thing that really holds people down here is "Respectability." This is a game about respect, and earning it or losing it is one of the biggest challenges a player faces. Politics is the essence of eRep, played out in the media and forums; its winners and losers are based on where they stand on the social ladder. These "gatekeepers" you mention are just the old guard who have the chance to raise up those they see fit. So are there ways to unlock the hidden doors that will get you into this "paradise" you think may be out there?
Wow, your last couple paragraphs sound ominous, or perhaps it is optimism. When respect is equally shared among the many, then perhaps we will be more than half way to utopia.
i really must defend myself (as a company owner) here. While i cant say this is true about all (or any?) of my peers i myself take pride in offering the fairest wage possible.
You speak of slave wages and yet the first 4 days of any e-citizens life will generate a loss for their employer. (not matter what either party does as minimum wage is set) then and only then will the employer make any profit at all, if they are lucky, but usually they arent lucky and the employee runs off to some other company that is offering a few cents more on the market.
Also i can say for sure that one can buy Q2 food every day on minimum wage. more than enough to feed themselves at 50 health since you get the full 2 point benefit at this level.
its easy to say "oh business men make soooo much profit off me oohhh poor me" when one does not own a business themselves, but i challenge every e-citizen out there to do the math themselves. research the forumla's take into consideration all of the factors and see just how much of the pie they themselves get.
but that is really not much different from RL haha. so really your article hits the topic strait on the head well done!
The above article and comments are old now, but I'm new, and not yet jaded. My first few days were hard, yes, trying to feel my way around and understand everything (which is still a struggle at times) but I was invited into the game, so my sponser had some good advice for me to start with.
It was frustrating to make only enough to buy bread (and poor quality at that) and a real struggle to stay above 90 wellness after working, training, and fighting every day. But then my friend gifted me a bit, and I discovered Canadian Health Services (who because I was under category 12, gave me food), someone else literally befriended me then gave me food and weapons, another kind soul who was leaving the game gave me a Q3 house and 10 days of food, I found a couple of better paying jobs, and I was encouraged to enlist in the CAF who now gives me free weapons.
I can't speak for everyone, but this feels kind of Utopean to me. RL was never this easy, or this altruistic.
About the only thing that doesn't feel right to me so far, is the way the game is set up for so much war. Leave the structure there for the Hawks of the eworld, by all means, but come on... there are far better ways to build societies and worlds than through war.