The Economist ~ Why titles mean nothing

Day 1,423, 09:01 • Published in Sweden United Kingdom • by Spite313


Dear friends,

It seems that I have went meandering down a philosophical path of late, and today I want to talk about something I have been preaching about on IRC for months. In most of your games, you will come across people with titles. Ministers, army leaders, ambassadors, dignitaries and so on. For the most part, these people will have been given their title by someone who also nominally holds a title. Going back far enough, you will find one of the two legitimising forces in the game – congress or the President themselves.

The truth I want to talk to you about today concerns exactly the above. To open this confusing debate, let me ask you a question- What makes me any different to a citizen who started playing today? Do I have more buttons available to me? Can I declare war, can I donate money, can I change our laws or taxes? No. Can I sign MPPs, do I have the ability to direct armies, can I join an alliance? No. I am indistinguishable from anyone else in the game, other than perhaps by the money I have, which hardly differentiates me from thousands of other citizens these days.

When you next come across a MoFA or a MoD, ask yourself: what gives them their power. The ability to do many of the things I have said above. The first, and the natural reaction is to point to their title: To say “that is there legitimacy, that is what gives them the power”. The truth is slightly more complex. To explain, let me give you an example.

Almost two years ago (it might be two years exactly- my memory isn’t perfect and I can’t be bothered to check) a young player called Mr Woldy ran for CP. He had already been ready to run twice before, but had stepped aside for more experienced candidates. When he ran the first time he was immensely popular with the general public- several terms as MoHA (in the UK the first person a new citizen speaks to) and a series of popular newbie guides had got his name around. However there was a big worry about his foreign affairs experience. He wasn’t known to anyone, and with the UK just entering a new alliance a couple of months before (PEACE GC) it was worried that perhaps we needed someone stronger at the top.

As it happens, Woldy got elected, and served three consecutive terms as CP- still one of the only CPs to have successfully done so in the UK. As time went on, Woldy became “the UK” to our allies. He became one of PEACE’s more familiar faces, and when the old alliance died, Woldy was the UK’s signatory in the formation of Phoenix. When he finally stepped down on the 5th of January, Woldy began a long series of terms as MoFA of the UK.

Now the question I am asking here is- where did his power come from as MoFA? The obvious at this point becomes a little less obvious. Was he a MoFA called Mr Woldy, or was he just Mr Woldy and someone had conveniently tagged a title “MoFA” onto him to describe what he did? Certainly the title opened doors at that point, though later it wasn’t really needed. Being Mr Woldy was enough to give him access and influence, and a series of UK Presidents capitalised on his skill and abilities by making them their own ambassadors as well.

In PEACE GC and Phoenix there was a specific title for such people- Emeritus. It was a title which meant “without title”. They were people who had reached a point where they were an essential part of the network which runs the game, without actually being an official part of any country. At that point, the title had become irrelevant. Players had become entities in their own right.

Now my point here is that this is the best way to recruit anyone carrying a title. To find someone who already does a job, and then give it to them. It’s not even a revolutionary idea- all over the world MoDs and MoFAs are promoted based on what they do, often without being asked. People who are always online, always supplying, always watching battles become MoDs and maybe eventually commanders in alliances. People who spend all their times on IRC chatting to foreign citizens, asking their opinions, becoming known, travelling the world making friends- they become MoFAs and alliance leaders.

When you look around the world it is easy to identify people who fit this bill. People like Lonestar, Drashhh, Kistru, Dermont, Feherlo, Nico, gid1, Howly, Angeldav, Strozer, Florencia and so on. I could list names all day and all night and still never get to the end- people who have forced their way to the top not on the power of titles but on the merit of their hard work and by virtue of their continued hard work.

There will be some of you reading this now thinking it is grossly unfair that the same people will be picked again and again based on the strength of nothing more than their past achievements or current position. I understand completely, but the truth could not be more different. The truth is that by liberating ourselves from titles, we have a situation where we become more meritocratic not less. Where people who are simply willing to take initiative and step up into a role are given it. People who go forth and be ambassadors become the next MoFAs. People who step up and write good journalism or make strong points become advisers. People who step up and volunteer to supply, who volunteer to direct troops, become MoDs. Lazy people who sit around waiting for a title to land on their heads get nothing, though they never seem to shut up complaining about how unfair this system is.

Recently I declared myself Emperor of the UK. I didn’t do that because I love titles, I did it as kind of a half-joke. Because every single power I demanded for myself by virtue of being Emperor were powers I already had. In fact, for anyone having these “powers” it becomes quickly apparent that most of them are a lot of horrible, boring hard work, rather than some sort of privilege. The funny thing is, only some people realised that. In fact, a lot of the people who would probably fit onto the list I started above were the ones who called me a troll, or said I just wanted to “seize power”. What is hilarious is that thought that by calling myself Emperor, or Supreme Lord, or Cabbage King, I would be granted magical powers. Other people thought it was an ego thing- that I somehow wanted or needed recognition. The truth is, what I want and need are more people to step up and do the work. More new players to realise that titles are so much crap, and that I don’t have time to keep doing all of what I do. What I want more than anything is to find people with the ruthlessness, drive and ambition to force their way to the top, and yet still having the incredibly rare ability to pace themselves so they don’t burn out.

I have seen a lot of newbie guides to politics. This is probably the most accurate ones you’ll ever read. I am not explaining how to run for congress, how to volunteer in a Ministry. I am laying down the clear and unswerving path to power for you. Ultimately, that is what politics is: To look at other people doing a bad job, and to step up and do it properly; To take control; to assume responsibility. I think a lot of people hedge away from it out of embarrassment or humility. The truth is, the world relies on people who can ignore the embarrassment, and put up with the fact people think they’re arrogant dicks. If nobody stepped up, we would have no leaders.

So step up. I am grand vizier material, not really cut out for Imperial position. So for God’s sake find me someone to palm this crown onto.

best,

Iain