Why I Am Not an eCommunist

Day 1,035, 17:44 • Published in Belgium USA • by MaryamQ
There has been a lot of debate over political ideology in eRepublik, some espousing a particular position on the spectrum, and some saying that ideology has no real place in this game. I am openly quite far to the left in real life, frequently supporting candidates whose ideals appear to match my own even when members of my own party consider them unelectable. I also have to admit I have always had a great deal of sympathy with those who espouse eCommunism, and indeed, to some degree it has been shown to work quite well in certain situations. I have previously been a member of what I considered to be a very good commune when I lived in the eUK, and communal systems have been successful for the military in a number of countries. Nevertheless, as things now stand, I feel it is best to remain in my socially concerned but more pragmatic party, Res Belgica, rather than joining one of the available communist/socialist parties, for as long as I am active in the game. The reasons for this are multiple, and I will attempt to express them below.

A. The idealogy versus game mechanics argument
Left to myself, I would fall on the ideology side of this one. In fact, a few months ago, I was much more idealistic in my approach to the game than I am now. I am perfectly content to have just enough money to get by, and to share what I do have (most of it having been given to me by others who have left the game) with those less fortunate than I am. I am also a pacifist by nature, and could live happily without wars of any kind. However, I am not left to myself. War drives this game for most people, and to engage in war, you need capital. For the good of my community, therefore, it would be wrong to stick rigidly to my real-life ideals.

B. I have chosen to live in a small eNation.
When I joined Res Belgica, which is the second largest party in eBelgium, it had almost 80 members. Today, it has just over 40, most of whom are not active in the party or national forums. In fact, there are so few active players in eBelgium that in one recent election we did not even have enough candidates to fill all the available seats in Congress, and as has been pointed out, 2/3 of our current Congress has not participated in any debate on the forum in this term. With such a limited group of active people, we really need to work together. Holding to ideologies is a luxury a small community like ours cannot afford. In the unlikely event that I choose to move to a larger country, perhaps I will change my mind.

C. Even those who hold them are not always clear about what their ideologies mean.
Members of our local Belgian Communist Party have said that they do not always agree on what it means to be an eCommunist. Some follow the views of particular real-life philosophers. Some modify those views to fit what they think will succeed in-game. With a few exceptions, however, most are not able to tell you what eCommunism is in practical terms. Phoenix Quinn and Johnobrow Dadds are 2 examples of thoughtful and articulate writers on the left, and no doubt some of you can name some on the right, but as far as I can see, the vast majority of those on the far left and the far right in this game stridently promote their own positions in opposition to every other position without really understanding or being able to explain what those positions are.

Of course, you are free to have your own views, in-game and in RL, and I hope and believe diversity will always be welcome in eBelgium, but I also hope you will ask yourself, as I have done, what it is you hope to accomplish in this game and what is the best way to achieve it. May the answers lead you to a good place!