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There are two main overarching influences in the bourgeois culture of eRepublik, the forces that drive the involvement of the bourgeoisie and those assimilated by its culture in the game and cause their continuation (temporary at least) within it. These are the commodity and the nation and the two phenomena that spawn from and surround them, commodity fetishism and nationalism. Together they are the main components of bourgeois-nationalism, the dominant ideology within the New World.

Commodity Fetishism



By commodity fetishism what is meant is the domination by “tangible” and intangible things of the behaviour of individuals and by extension society as a whole. Things, people and social relations become objectified to the individual who is concerned only with their value in terms of actual monetary value and power. It is a sort of quasi-religious, irrational obsession with having and accumulating more, with having money and power and accumulating more money and power.

In eRepublik commodity fetishism manifests itself primarily in relation to work and military skill, high quality housing, high quality weapons and by extension high battle damage, medals and perhaps most significantly of all; hording money and gold. It is also observable in the quest for higher political and military office as well as the ‘numbers game’; party membership, rank, congressmen and country presidents. Commodity fetishism, though it may be manifested through more collective institutions like the state and party, is a phenomenon concerned with the individual, personal wealth and personal advancement only. If a commodity is shared with someone it is because it cannot be obtained or experienced otherwise, such as how a party can’t be the biggest if there’s nobody else in it so the individual is forced to share to accumulate. As an elite within it though they feel a sense of ownership of the party and individuals within it. They are both objectified - they become a commodity.

Nationalism



To be a nationalist is to hold that the nation is an important aspect, if not the most important aspect of society and that one should serve it. The difference between nations in eRepublik and real life is subtle, but significant. In real life the nation is, ultimately, imagined for it is neither a natural or permanent thing. The nation in real life was created and can consequently also be destroyed, degraded, deconstructed. Conversely in eRepublik the nation is a fundamental part of the game mechanics. One can neither create nor destroy the nation. A nation can be conquered by another but you cannot destroy all nations, the nation is a constant.

Another difference is the lack of race or ethnicity in eRepublik. In real life many nations are built on a common racial heritage. In eRepublik this simply doesn’t exist. People are not born into a race and nationality from their parents. They are, however, commonly born into the ecountry that corresponds to their real life country and consequently to a degree a common national identity is born from the real life national identity, with language usually being the most major feature of this. Though eRepublik nations lack the established identity of real life nations they more than make up for this in their permanency and relevance.

Whilst real life nations divide people, they are not fundamentally conceived with war and conflict in mind, at least not with such intensity today as in the past. eRepublik nations however are deliberately designed to war with each other. As a result nationalism is very attractive in eRepublik, even more so than in real life. People serve the nation because it appears to be the “natural” thing to do and what one is very much encouraged to do not just by the game designers, the admins, but by the political elite also, the cultural and political hegemons of the nation. On top of this is the fact that the relationship between compatriots in eRepublik is arguably far more personal compared to that which exists in real life. eRepublik nations are not only smaller but one directly serves alongside ones countrymen, an experience rarely found outside of the military in real life. In eRepublik, of course, everyone is a soldier and a soldier needs an army. Most of all what is the biggest driving force behind nationalism is the desire for affiliation.

It should be apparent at this point that the bourgeois is rarely purely interested in the nation or commodity, rather there is an overlap - without which of course we would not be able to identify the bourgeois-nationalist ideology in it’s entirety. To varying degrees commodities and the nation are pursued by different individuals and it is perfectly possible for both to be pursued simultaneously or only one.

eRepublik is often called a game, not least of all by those who play for the reasons I’ve outlined above. If it is a game then how does one win? For the bourgeois-nationalist the answer is obvious, if ultimately flawed. One wins by accumulating commodities and by advancing the nation. The limitless nature of these objectives should be blatantly apparent, but with the lack of an immediate alternative it tragically is not. How much gold does one need to have before they win the game? Obviously there is no limit so one can never “win” via this route. It is hardly surprising then that few stick at commodity accumulation permanently, the call of the nation is simply too strong, too attractive for those who aren’t hopelessly misled by a rightist real life libertarian ideology. The commodity, of course, never loses its shiny attractiveness to the bourgeois, the addiction is never fully overcome as long as they continue to serve these ideals, but the nation commonly becomes the primary concern. The nation can be conceived as a commodity in its own right - the ultimate commodity.

Take the political situation in the eUK as an example; originally the largest party, the United Kingdom Reform Party, was driven by a strong belief in individualism, in the commodity. It was however replaced as the dominant party by The Unity Party, a party interested more in the nation than the individual. The UKRP lists itself as right-wing, TUP as left-wing. Most mistakenly assume a left-right split here akin to some kind of class divide from real life, socialism vs capitalism. The truth is both parties are bourgeois-nationalist and both to differing extents serve commodities and the nation. Few would claim that UKRP is as individualist as it once was, for it has undergone a progression, a progression that generally speaking the entire bourgeois class undergoes. Simply put TUP is a more advanced version of UKRP, more stringently nationalist but still serving commodities.

But how long can nationalism really satisfy, in place of commodity accumulation or otherwise?

Alienation



The goal of the nationalist is world-domination. They will build huge bureaucratic superstructures in the government and military, partly driven by commodity fetishism of course, but the purpose is always cited as being military strength, or more precisely conquest. They become consumed by an irrational and pointless effort to destroy and occupy other nations. I describe it as irrational and pointless because clearly it is not possible to build particularly large empires that will last very long; world-domination is impossible, it’s designed to be impossible lest you win the game and stop playing!

In their efforts the bourgeoisie exploits the mass of players to further these goals and in doing so achieves nothing but the enrichment of only real life capitalists. Little wonder then that few find satisfaction in eRepublik; you’re not supposed to. The inevitable and eternal plague of cheating follows of course. Why not cheat and troll when you are so dissatisfied? Perhaps now you can begin to understand why “rage-quits” are so common in eRepublik.

The bourgeois’ eRepublik offers only the image and never the reality. It is form without substance. Like the good entertainer it is, it leaves you wanting more. More gold, more war, more elections. It does not satisfy. It cannot satisfy. It does not aim to satisfy. It offers only the dream of satisfaction.

The Spectacle



The task that I set myself in writing this was to explain why the bourgeoisie exists in eRepublik. I feel that no investigation into this would be complete without relating eRepublik to real life. Why, in spite of the alienation and failure to enrich and achieve does the bourgeoisie continue to play eRepublik? Why hasn’t it quit a long time ago and returned to real life?

The answer can only lie in their “real lives”. People play because of the lack of purpose and meaning in their lives. They come here to fill the void. Do they succeed? Clearly not, but eRepublik promises even more than the illusions of real life with it's medals and pompous titles and positions. The bourgeoisie builds these government and military superstructures to fill the void in eRepublik, after they’re only here in the first place because of the void in real life. It is a void within a void - a desperate search for control. That's why people hate the admins so much - they deny them control.

It's not about living out fantasies, it's about living full stop. It's the community and social aspect that people always cite as being the most attractive thing about eRepublik, not the grand empires and becoming president. eRepublik is most fun when you’re not actually playing eRepublik.

Ironically eRepublik is so powerful because it emulates real life so much. Playing a game like World of Warcraft is similar but not as addictive because it is so clearly fantasy. eRepublik promises something that is actually really like real life. It is a "real life emulator". It promises a satisfying existence, it does not deliver because if it did you may well leave.

"Every day people are denied an authentic life and sold back it's representation." - Larry Law.

Conclusion

The e-bourgeoisie, and those assimilated by its culture, play eRepublik then in search of control over their lives and satisfaction. Their course of achieving this is commodity fetishism and nationalism. As demonstrated, neither will suffice. There is a number of possible outcomes from this dilemma.

- They may continue regardless in the desperate search for satisfaction demanding ever more, more gold, more war, more of all commodities. The longer they do this the more likely one of the following outcomes is to occur.

- They may attempt to cheat.

- They may experiment with ereligion. The Bobloist religion of spam can clearly be seen to have been inspired by the inevitable alienation of the bourgeois 'orthodox game'. Dioism is also a result of it. The user looks for something undeniably outside the game mechanics, something that really transcends the game orthodoxy. This however can do little to help besides lightly numbing their experience. eReligion provides no way of winning the game and if it does then it is simply the same as the objectives provided by bourgeois-nationalism; nation and commodity.

- They may attempt to quit.

- They may become a revolutionary. Sooner or later a player may realise a better, more satisfying world is possible and they may struggle to achieve that world, seeking an end to exploitation and destruction of bourgeois-nationalism. The revolutionary refuses to play the orthodox game, the admin’s game. They will endeavour to play only their own game, a game that offers actual satisfaction and control.

Whichever happens there is always one inevitable outcome; the death of that individual's bourgeois-nationalist ideology.