Join the new world

(I re-posted this article to include the Chinese translation by Johann Wolfgang, for which I am very grateful. Thanks!)


台灣未來的經濟型態需要被確定下來。目標是確保人民有管道取得便宜的商品，尤其是食物及武器，同時要有穩定的外幣流動以使政府常保有足夠的GOLD給如MPPs或"tanks"一類的必需品。

我個人是建議從社會主義計畫經濟轉為資本主義自由市場經濟。

不同於現實生活以及 V1，社會主義在 eRep Rising 裡成為了相當可行的一種經濟模式。戰事在更新前只依賴 GOLD；"tanks" 皆會消耗治療包；「每日雙擊者」們打了五次戰鬥，在醫院接受治療，然後因缺少 GOLD 以及興趣而到此為止。但現今即使是一般人也能一次打上好幾次戰鬥，因為可以隨時手動吃食物。而藉由這種不用消耗大量GOLD的替代方案，若食物與武器也便宜到讓每一個公民都能經常戰鬥並從中得到如他們所需的經驗值及力量，低下的薪資也會變得可以接受。因此，生產與販售達最大成本效益的計畫經濟國營企業是可以在不影響國民高生活品質的情況下運作的。

但這樣的問題在於過少的 GOLD 能被國民賺取來成立他們自己的事業，並因此造成較有野心的玩家離開國家以在國外賺錢。再加上國營企業的不公平低價競爭，生產與販售商品在台灣市場可能會變得極端無利潤及因而無吸引力。另一方面，在這裡成立的公司－無論是存夠GOLD的台灣人或外商－能以極端便宜的成本生產並藉由出口商品至其它國家以牟取暴利。這能鼓勵新工作的產生，反過來也能導向高薪資以及財富的增長，至少在某種程度上會抵消之前的台灣就業市場優勢。

此時，藉由停止國營事業活動並允許私人公司自由競爭，市場的自由化是可以考慮的。那時足量的公司也許會被吸引過來且薪資也有可能會高到讓台灣能有一個健康的國內市場。只是匯率屆時也可能被政府穩定在適當的價位以確保台灣產品在國外的競爭力。



Something that will need to be decided is the economic ideology of the future Taiwanese state. The goal should be to ensure that the people have access to cheap goods, especially food and weapons, and that there is a steady influx of foreign currencies in order for the government to always have enough GOLD for necessities like MPPs or „tanks“.

I personally propose a transition from a planned socialist economy to a free market capitalism.

Unlike in real life and in V1, Socialism has become an actually viable economic model in eRepublik Rising. Warfare before the updates was reliant solely on GOLD; „tanks“ consumed wellness packs en masse, the two-clickers fought five battles, healed at the hospital, and were done due to lack of GOLD and interest. But nowadays even the common people are able to fight many times in a row, thanks to the introduction of the food consumption button. Owing to this new alternative to spending piles of GOLD, humble wages would thus be more acceptable if food and weapons were available cheaply enough to allow every citizen to fight as often and thus gain as much experience and strength as they needed to. Therefore, a planned economy running state companies to produce and sell at maximum cost-efficiency could work without depriving the people of a high standard of living.

The problem is that too little GOLD would be earned for anyone to be able to start their own business, and thus more ambitious players might flee the country to make their fortunes abroad. In addition, due to the unfair competition of the state companies’ low prices, producing and selling goods on the Taiwanese market would be extremely unprofitable and therefore unappealing. On the other hand companies that are started here - either by Taiwanese who saved up enough GOLD or foreign investors - could produce extremely cheaply and would thus be able to make huge profits if they exported their goods to other countries. This would encourage the creation of new jobs here, which in turn would eventually lead to higher wages and an increase in wealth, at least up to the point where it negates the former advantages of the Taiwanese job market.

At this point a liberalisation of the domestic market could be considered, with state companies mostly ceasing their activity and allowing private companies to compete freely. By then enough firms would have been attracted and wages would be high enough for Taiwan to have a healthy home market. The currency could then be pegged at a certain value by the government to ensure that Taiwanese products will remain competitive abroad, though.