Mechanics v. Ideology - eUSA Dies [tl;plzr]
Day 637, 15:40
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Published in USA 
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by
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by Jewitt
18 August, 2009, Day 637 of the New World - This is an open letter to The Report from Jewitt himself. It is in its original text and has not been edited in any way.
There's a movie playing in my head
Bombs falling and children crying
The sun rise and the sky turns red
Load your guns tonight
Let's talk about other people for a second
Eugene Harlot, Leroy Combs, WahooBob, and countless other active people in the game are leaving. What makes this important? Because they get it. They are followers of Mechanicism. They understand that real life theory and practice does not work, but trust that those who have studied the game know how it works.
So, what's up?
I love RA2, especially the Russian invasion bits. Been useful lately.
We have lost region after region, and it is not our government's (or military's) fault. We are up against a well coordinated and strong enemy. We have held off longer than anyone could had guessed - PEACE thought it would take just two weeks, I thought a month. We're sitting at nearly two months and still holding onto two of our four most important regions.
We have grown stronger, we have learned what really works and what does not in war (through Mechanicism). We have, as a nation, learned that sometimes the government actually really does know what it is doing. We as nation have learned that behind the seal "Government of the eUnited States" are players just like the workers and two-clickers, just with bigger voices and a better understanding of how the game works.
How the game works...
If the eUSA Falls Tonight
The eUSA has a terrible habit of grabbing the high schoolers from the internet that took an American Government or General Economics class and immediately think they are experts. To add to this, politics and economics in real life are very different than in eRepublik. I have written tens of articles trying to describe the divide and argue why we must all look at the game from the "Mechanics Perspective" instead of the "Ideological Perspective."
Many tax plans went through congress, and ended up being about this issue. What we all realized was that although the more active and voiced persons look at it from a Mechanics Perspective, congress will always be filled with Ideological thinkers that bring real life thought into the game. This slows us down, or prevents us from progress.
Anyone like this game? I've been thinking of buying it.
If the eUSA was to fall tonight, that would be it for months. Months. Why? It takes congress nearly a month to decide anything important: Tax plans, what to call their board, create a budget, what the e-national anthem should be, if the letter 'b' really does come after the letter 'a.' How do we expect our nation, which has been divided since its creation, to rally behind a single resistance movement?
I can't count on my hands how many resistance groups I have heard of. Many have talked to me about joining if the eUSA falls. I ask them if they intend to merge with other groups, and all they do is beat their chests at how awesome and large they are.
I have fought eAmericans while we had a country on something as simple as how the income tax works (there's no argument...it works this way....end of discussion!) and I would fear the day if I had to fight with eAmericans in coordinating a resistance. It all boils down to what is needed in this game.
So to me, eRepublik dies when the eUSA does.
If the eUSA Stands and Wins
It won't change anything from what I said before. We will continue to bicker. Parties will say they are bipartisan while moving voters to get their congressmen in power. Conservatives will still think there's a holy war to be fought against the liberals, and the laissez-faire supporters will still preach a strong and well-armed military despite the contradictions their platforms hold.
Two senators arguing over minimum wage.
We will never succeed as a nation because we are stuck in the Ideology v. Mechanics debate. There shouldn't be a debate - the game works this way. Period. This is a social simulator, not a political simulation.
What did I Learn Just Now?
I started this article with the intent to reference that I may not be playing this game for much longer. But as I progressed, I noticed something. I have, for some blasted reason, become attached to this nation. To the people. To the game. The bickering, the inapplicable partisan ideologies, the grudges.
President Emerick showing an old white man how the game works.
Will I continue being that active voice, advising presidents and citizens alike about economics and the markets? Will I continue to bridge the diplomacy gap? Will I keep advocating the freedom of all occupied territories actively? Maybe. Time will tell. But what I do have to say is....damn eUSA. Get your act together. This is not real life. This is not a simulation for politics. The game works this way. Period.
There's a voice screaming in my head
Telling me that I best stop crying
Stand up it will be okay
Load your guns tonight
________________________________________ __________
To do List:
We need to realize that the people on the other side of the battlefield are human too. Check out this promotional video made by the Hungarian Elite Unit, which was what I was listening to while writing this. Show them some respect, and be clean.
Check out this article. Good stuff, in my opinion. Also, friend, Airborne comrade, and fellow cabinet member Gaius Julius wrote an amazing article worth reading.
Maybe we should vote this up to kill the monotony of the "War! Propaganda! War!" articles we have out now on the Top 5? If you liked this a whole lot, maybe you should subscribe.
-Jewitt, Chief Editor
There's a movie playing in my head
Bombs falling and children crying
The sun rise and the sky turns red
Load your guns tonight
Let's talk about other people for a second
Eugene Harlot, Leroy Combs, WahooBob, and countless other active people in the game are leaving. What makes this important? Because they get it. They are followers of Mechanicism. They understand that real life theory and practice does not work, but trust that those who have studied the game know how it works.
So, what's up?
I love RA2, especially the Russian invasion bits. Been useful lately.
We have lost region after region, and it is not our government's (or military's) fault. We are up against a well coordinated and strong enemy. We have held off longer than anyone could had guessed - PEACE thought it would take just two weeks, I thought a month. We're sitting at nearly two months and still holding onto two of our four most important regions.
We have grown stronger, we have learned what really works and what does not in war (through Mechanicism). We have, as a nation, learned that sometimes the government actually really does know what it is doing. We as nation have learned that behind the seal "Government of the eUnited States" are players just like the workers and two-clickers, just with bigger voices and a better understanding of how the game works.
How the game works...
If the eUSA Falls Tonight
The eUSA has a terrible habit of grabbing the high schoolers from the internet that took an American Government or General Economics class and immediately think they are experts. To add to this, politics and economics in real life are very different than in eRepublik. I have written tens of articles trying to describe the divide and argue why we must all look at the game from the "Mechanics Perspective" instead of the "Ideological Perspective."
Many tax plans went through congress, and ended up being about this issue. What we all realized was that although the more active and voiced persons look at it from a Mechanics Perspective, congress will always be filled with Ideological thinkers that bring real life thought into the game. This slows us down, or prevents us from progress.
Anyone like this game? I've been thinking of buying it.
If the eUSA was to fall tonight, that would be it for months. Months. Why? It takes congress nearly a month to decide anything important: Tax plans, what to call their board, create a budget, what the e-national anthem should be, if the letter 'b' really does come after the letter 'a.' How do we expect our nation, which has been divided since its creation, to rally behind a single resistance movement?
I can't count on my hands how many resistance groups I have heard of. Many have talked to me about joining if the eUSA falls. I ask them if they intend to merge with other groups, and all they do is beat their chests at how awesome and large they are.
I have fought eAmericans while we had a country on something as simple as how the income tax works (there's no argument...it works this way....end of discussion!) and I would fear the day if I had to fight with eAmericans in coordinating a resistance. It all boils down to what is needed in this game.
So to me, eRepublik dies when the eUSA does.
If the eUSA Stands and Wins
It won't change anything from what I said before. We will continue to bicker. Parties will say they are bipartisan while moving voters to get their congressmen in power. Conservatives will still think there's a holy war to be fought against the liberals, and the laissez-faire supporters will still preach a strong and well-armed military despite the contradictions their platforms hold.
Two senators arguing over minimum wage.
We will never succeed as a nation because we are stuck in the Ideology v. Mechanics debate. There shouldn't be a debate - the game works this way. Period. This is a social simulator, not a political simulation.
What did I Learn Just Now?
I started this article with the intent to reference that I may not be playing this game for much longer. But as I progressed, I noticed something. I have, for some blasted reason, become attached to this nation. To the people. To the game. The bickering, the inapplicable partisan ideologies, the grudges.
President Emerick showing an old white man how the game works.
Will I continue being that active voice, advising presidents and citizens alike about economics and the markets? Will I continue to bridge the diplomacy gap? Will I keep advocating the freedom of all occupied territories actively? Maybe. Time will tell. But what I do have to say is....damn eUSA. Get your act together. This is not real life. This is not a simulation for politics. The game works this way. Period.
There's a voice screaming in my head
Telling me that I best stop crying
Stand up it will be okay
Load your guns tonight
________________________________________ __________
To do List:
We need to realize that the people on the other side of the battlefield are human too. Check out this promotional video made by the Hungarian Elite Unit, which was what I was listening to while writing this. Show them some respect, and be clean.
Check out this article. Good stuff, in my opinion. Also, friend, Airborne comrade, and fellow cabinet member Gaius Julius wrote an amazing article worth reading.
Maybe we should vote this up to kill the monotony of the "War! Propaganda! War!" articles we have out now on the Top 5? If you liked this a whole lot, maybe you should subscribe.
-Jewitt, Chief Editor
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Comments
First DENIED.
Jewitt for President? 🙂
Jewitt, this is an awesome article. I hope you never leave us.
We must all be mechanics people, not ideology people.
voted
Voted - Excellent article Jewitt, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
What happens when you best friend in this game is your hero?
Superb job, if only people listened...
well written. Voted
Damn good article mate, I hope you don't quit the game 😶
Although that may open up a shiny new promotion for me to gun for 😮
Voted.
Cool cock pic, bro
Very, very nice job. Voted... (I wish I was Jewitt...)
Well stated!
Thoughtful and lucid. Thanks.
I wonder, though, if a binary characterization of mechanism vs. ideological doesn't still tend to bypass the ludic, playful core of how events are (literally) played out in eRep?
In other words, the rules of engagement are quite broad, aren't they? and _not_ entirely mechanical. The game encourages politicking and pontificating (and even poetry), as well as warring and peaceing and businessing. If any activity that is permitted within the game framework brings enjoyment to a player, then they have "won" in the sense of deriving joy from playing, no?
Our Hungarian friends have certainly demonstrated mastery of certain game mechanics -- let's call those "the levers of power" mechanics -- and clearly derive enjoyment from that! (To the disappointment of others.)
But it's also intriguing, in my humble view, to see how the game is played "at the margins" as well, since this is, in the end, a massive social experiment. I don't think that such play is, or must be, in all cases, just a matter of bringing RL ideology into the game in opposition to playing the "real" game, though I agree that such an approach can be tiresome.
You thought it would take a month? You're saying you knew America would lose, and thought it would take a month to pan out? That's odd, because the tenor before the war was that of absolutely-assured victory.
I'm curious as to why you didn't try and level out the hysteria BEFORE the war, if you knew you were going to lose? Such an act from someone like yourself would have been extremely helpful to all Americans... although, you probably would have been run out for it because if there's one thing Americans cannot prematurely face—no matter the circumstances—it's the truth.
It's a great article, but it's over a month late... IF you indeed knew you would lose this war. As to rounding up a legitimate and organized resistance... did you ever see that Baby Herman short that came on before "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" HA! Good luck!
Voted.
/me Standing Ovation, for the love of god dont leave, everyone is it seems.
Wow, Great way to put it.
I really hope this becomes the top voted article so that all may see it.
Thank you very much for writing it Jewitt, for it will be what I direct all idiots and newbies of eRepublik to whenever they make a stupid argument.
I love you Jewitt and this article is fantastic.
BTW Your Obama picture is Michael Lewis's old avatar. LOVE IT
jewitt for pres
k
The originl Red Faction game was fun, I don't know about the new one.
Great article Jewitt! All of these resistance groups will fair much better if they merge!
Excellent article, very poignant and insightful
Awesome, voted and subscribed. I only wish every eUSian would read it.
Down with ideology. It doesn't work in-game.
"Conservatives will still think there's a holy war to be fought against the liberals"
😃 I didn't know we won. Yippie!
Good stuff.
Voted.
>Cool cock pic, bro
HOLY GOD, YOU'VE BEEN TO 4CHAN. HOW COOL.
Also, great article, Jewitt
I understand the whole ideology v. mechanics issue.
However, what I don't understand is why 'eRepublik will die when the eUS dies." From a mechanics standpoint, the eUS is no different than any other nation. The ideology that makes people refuse to base their judgment on mechanics is the same ideology that ties people the the eUS, and the same ideology that makes people threaten to quit if the eUS falls.
Again, from a mechanics standpoint, the eUS is no different than anywhere else, so if the eUS falls, game mechanics allow it's citizens to move elsewhere and go on like nothing ever happened.
o noez. Our president is a /b/fag? D=
Great points, Cerastes Admanteus. I never intended to write this to make everyone follow the Mechanicist train of thought - but just to say: Hey, unless you do, the eUSA will suck in comparison to others. It's fun to argue politics and social welfare, but what good is it when we're idiots trying to shoot missiles that don't exist at an enemy that is mechanicist and using Q5 weapons?
I agree Polkadot, there is no difference between the eUSA and any other country short of resources and community. What is the difference is that I said "for me, the game dies" with respect to the fall of the eUSA. It is my emotional attachment to the nation, and how much I have put in it. To see it all thrown into the burner because some congressman from SD failed to realize that he can't have a Q5 hospital in South Dakota (and others like him/her) and ignored the real threat is just disheartening to me.
State Idealism and National Idealism are both Idealism none the less. From a mechanics standpoint, regional pride can be a burden on the nation, but at the same time, from a mechanics standpoint, national pride can be a burden on the player.
When I accepted the fact that eWisconsin would never be important to the eUS, my ties to the eUS died. By overcoming my regional pride, I moved overseas and continued on. There is no reason that other mechanists cannot put national pride on the backburner and move on somewhere else.
Ultimately, it is still idealism.
Good Article.
Jewitt, start the American Mechanicism Party. I'll join.
Been a fan a long time Jewitt you and others changed my perspective along time ago...I must say I am sad of the outcome but will move on no matter what.
Thanks and please stay.
Always subscribed and voted
Jewitt FTW!!!!!!
JEWITT FTW!!!!!
Good stuff
Great article Jewitt. Its what the people need to hear about.
Very true, Jewitt. What I would add to that, though, is that the majority of human behavior is driven by emotions, not by logic (mechanics). We tend to make emotional decisions and then back those decisions up with logic. People elect their leaders (in eRep and in real life) based on the leaders' ability to move the people. But when the leadership takes command, they need to move the people into the mechanics while still keeping them emotionally involved.
Great article.
Voted, long ago subscribed.
you did forget one thing i agree 100% except that the only way to make this game more realities is in ideologies i understand we must know and work with the game mechanics we have but we should never try to stop making the game better. This game as intended was meant to replicate a growing knowing realistic global community however it is far to flawed and far to small to do so....the only thing that keeps me from being a two clicker is the community and the eusa mirc rooms. As well as hope that the game mechanics will be changed.
thanks-OG great article
🙁
Good article Jewitt. I personally told the President that we were going to lose in July, I could see no way to win with the numbers I was seeing.
The U.S. if it survives needs to have less then 6 parties and they have to be focused on winning the game or at least do what is necessary for the U.S. to survive. If you look at other country's they have at most 2 or 3 candidates for president because the party's meet before hand and decide who is the strongest candidate and drive on.
I play to win and the U.S. will not win as long as this BS RL politics is continued to be played.
Imagine how surprised I was when I made a new character a few days ago up in Maine, having no idea that New England was about all that was left and it didn't have much longer. I'll keep going if we get wiped out unless I run out of wellness.
Erisian, move to NJ or FL.
"and still holding onto two of our four most important regions." The 2 regions we have now are not in the top four of what we could have.
voted. true story. Listen up newcomers as this writer provides you with the straight of it.
voted
Voted and subbed long ago. Well written and straight to the point.
This is a SOCIAL game. If you WON'T motivate people to play through the USE of ideology, then you understand the "mechanics" very poorly.
eUSA is losing because our leaders do not understand how to appeal to people's desires, goals, hopes in-game. "Mechanicism" is a deadening ideology - and its logical conclusion is to join PEACE...after all, it's all about winning and loyalties mean nothing, right?