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SFP PRESS NEWS FEED
Day 1136 of New World / Day 25 of Frostydom


Editorial:
The Alternative is Socialist Freedom
by Phoenix Quinn



sshhh.. Don't tell anyone, but "socialist freedom" is the left wing... of an angel



New Year's Declaration



Now that the USA has, umm, merged with Mexico, I felt like well, at least now I can refer to Subcomandante Marcos, Zapata and Hidalgo as part of "our" RL revolutionary heritage. So then I thought, hmm, in that case, should I issue my own Grito de Dolores?

If I did, it would go something like this...

Citizens!: a new direction comes to us today. Will you receive it? Will you free yourselves? Will you recover your dignity stolen by years of elitist mis-rule? We must act at once… Will you defend your dignity and your rights as true patriots? Long live our Free Nation! Down with bad government! Down with the robber barons!



Here's a shocking opinion. I agree with SEES about something...

SEES is right about the big picture


"Obeying is not living."

Nicholas Ryan of SEES recently posted a beautiful and heart-felt apologia on An American Dioist's Dilemma, in which he contrasts his loyalty to the eUSA to his loyalty to Dio Brando and Pakistan. Among other things, he points out that Dio "...saw the foundation of capitalism built into the game and the perpetual state of war it assured and understood that the game could never be won if played against each other. Dio understood that the true adversary is the admin, who all the while lines his pockets over the hate and vitriol spread here."

If I can be forgiven for interpreting it in this way... I read Citizen Ryan's overall message as saying that it is more meaningful to play the game in a way that gives room to explore your higher aspirations than to simply follow along the default capitalist-imperialist and über-nationalist route mapped out by Admin and doggedly pursued by their acolytes.

And while I respectfully disagree with my Dioist friends about their particular implementation of that vision, I can only say that I wholeheartedly agree with Citizen Ryan's general conclusion.



And here's my own apologia...

Why I Love the SFP


Freedom: It's Great!

Citizen Ryan's sentiment describes to a 'T' why I've long been an ardent supporter of the Socialist Freedom Party and, more generally, of all efforts by various players, parties and organizations to détourne the "received wisdom" of what it means to "win" eRepublik. I chose long ago to throw my lot in with those who "follow their bliss" and I've never regretted that choice.

As the old Situationist slogan put it: "All Power to the Imagination!".

So maybe that's not the "right" way to play eRepublik according to Dear Admin, but I would say that it's the most fun way. It's been a delight for me to meet and exchange ideas with "e-revolutionaries" from every part of the New World. It's made me think and challenge my own assumptions more than once. And it's been a nice antidote to groupthink, which I get enough of in real life.

In short, it's been quite enjoyable for me to refuse to play "follow the leader".

There's long been a debate -- sometimes heated and not very informative, sometimes quite enlightening -- between methods of play that are characterized as "role playing" vs. those characterized as "game mechanics". This has always seemed to me something of false dichotomy. There's no way to engage with eRepublik without some degree of fantasizing, nor is there any way to continue playing it without some degree of appreciation for its ever-changing mechanics.

What I've always enjoyed so much about this happy band of maniacs called the SFP is exactly their panache for melding these two aspects of the game -- let's avoid old, dull arguments and call them "wild imagination" and "practical work" -- into a compelling narrative that is both transgressive and encouraging, both rebellious and helpful.

This ability to break through the paradox is captured in the very name of the party: Socialist Freedom. It challenges the rotten corpses of both the leftist and rightist dogma, offering a new kind of synthesis that encompasses both social solidarity and individual freedom and dignity.

Is that dreaming? Perhaps. But what a great dream!



Why Americans Like the SFP




The SFP has not ever risen into the ranks of the Top Five. Despite that, and despite it's somewhat tongue-in-cheek "socialist" moniker -- or perhaps because of it? -- the SFP has managed to make friends and win a certain degree of respect from a fairly wide variety of American players. I think that's exactly because it doesn't "follow the rules" in the ordinary way.

Its partisans have espoused a wide variety of alternative interpretations of and strategies for playing the game: from worker-based-capitalism, to an international communalist network, to participating in a large-scale attempt at a grassroots communal takeover of Russia, to perpetual global peoples revolution, etc., etc. Contrary to the image some may mistakenly have of the SFP as a doctrinaire group of role-playing "commies", in fact it has attracted quite a mélange of serious gamers and wild dreamers of all sorts.

Unafraid to make mistakes and try new approaches, the wild boys and riot grrls of the SFP have plugged along for many months. Through ups and downs, good times and not-so-good, they've pretty much always done their own thing. In this respect, the SFP is similar to a number of the other small parties that have thrived from time to time in the eUSA: a fun place to hang out and do things a little differently.

But the SFP is unlike many of the smaller parties in two ways that I can think of. First, it has never given up on the idea that it's overall approach to the game has genuine merit and would be of benefit to the entire nation -- indeed, to the entire New World -- if taken up on larger scale. And secondly, because of its focus on critical thinking and experimentation, its luck hasn't (completely) risen or fallen on the basis of single personality or even a single idea.

And I think that explains both the SFP's longevity and its reputation. People kinda tend to like this Party because it's sort of like the cranky anarchist uncle who shows up at a wedding. A bit disheveled and sometimes a little tipsy, he can be a little annoying to have around, but really funny at the same time. Sure, not everybody agrees with the SFP, but many folks seem to be glad that they're around.

After all, somebody has to keep things stirred up!



Why You Should Join the SFP

The wind is blowing. Times are changing. Some illusions have been smashed... or at least severely cracke😛

* The super-alliance paradigm seems to be on its last legs.

* The "genius" of eAmerican big-capitalism lies like a wounded bird in the ruins of ERX and T'Jelle Bank.

* Whether or not you're a Dioist, Dio Brando's insight into the nature of Admin has become a widely-held belief. This cynicism about the game itself is a healthy thing and we should act on it.

* It is more clear every day that American players are bored to tears following in lock-step behind the plans of a strata of "Great Leaders". They want to have some fun, not just follow orders and be spectators. They want to have some input into their own destiny. Indeed, many of the leaders themselves feel this.


There's another way.

We can do it together.

And there's a party that can lead us there...


A party that has always pursued a vision of players creating their own destiny, not on the basis of following a Great Leader, but on the basis of e-human dignity -- the same universal values many players already hold dear.

A party that has a great experience building up alternative, worker-centered economic structures.

A party that has long collaborated with others around the New World who find the super-alliance paradigm dehumanizing and ridiculous.






We are the ones your parents warned you about.

No re-plastering, the structure is rotten.

Let’s not just change e-bosses, let’s change e-life.

We don’t want to be the watchdogs or servants of either capitalism or a dead "socialism".

We've been waiting for you.

It's Your Game: Join the Socialist Freedom Party!

Help feed a hungry world. Join the Socialist Freedom Party today.



Friends and curiosity-seekers are welcome join us on our forum at socialistfreedom.org.

Hungry? Low wellness? Help is available. Contact the Rainy Day Food Program today!