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The Pros and Cons of Erepublik for the Free-Minded Citizen.

In this edition of Canadian Liberty Magazine, I will outline several features which I find wonderful about citizenship in eRepublik in general (and eCanada in particular). There will also be a section devoted to the negative aspects of daily life here; that is, I will point out a couple of things which are decidedly unfree. To conclude, there will be a brief paragraph on how we can move forward to increase the overall liberty for individual citizens.

Perhaps the most gratifying thing for me as a citizen of eRepublik is the control I retain over my life, property, wealth and time. The basic events of my day are chosen entirely by me, and I answer to no one unless consent has been freely given. I know that at the end of each workday, there will be some extra money in my wallet because of the agreed-upon contract I have with my employer. I do not have to fear a jack-booted thug entering my newly acquired Q1 home and robbing me of food storage. No one is going to force me to purchase certain types of food, work at a job I do not enjoy, fight or train in the army, or bribe government officials with gifts. What makes this life so special to me, is that I am not bound by any obligations other than those I place upon myself. The obligations which I do set are done so because it is beneficial to my life, wealth, and property. Those who associate with me are not doing so because I point a gun to their head. It is a mutually beneficial procedure: a trade agreement which benefits both sides.

With that in mind, I seek daily to improve myself simply as a means to an end. Although I am under no stress to produce, train, eat or fight, each of those things will provide me with benefits down the road. My Q1 house is quite adequate for my current needs, but I dream one day of moving into a Q5. Same with foo😛 I've tasted Q5 Prime Rib and let me tell you, it's a darned sight better than eMac 'n eCheese! It's unfortunate that I cannot afford to eat Q5 every day, but I am working towards that day and I know it will come. It is the exact same situation with weapons. As TaiwanPanda recently pointed out to me, the benefits of Q5 weapons for a noob fighter are simply not worth the cost. My training and strength levels simply aren't high enough to justify the expense. One day; however, they will be and I will have the funds to purchase them. No one has any right to force me to purchase their weapons. I make the choice based on reason, rationale, and economic cost analysis.

The preceding is fairly clear to all, and I suspect many citizens of eCanada agree with the sentiments expressed above. While you may not share my goal of owning a Q5 house (or perhaps you enjoy eating pre-packaged Q1 food!), certainly we can agree that my food is MY FOOD, my home is MY HOME, and my wealth is MY WEALTH. I do not have a right to yours, and you do not have a right to mine.

Herein lies the most glaring issue I have with eRepublik: the Government has a hand in too many things. Whether you are involved in politics or not, it is clear that all taxes are theft. It is the only adequate definition of "taxes" there is. I do not know any companies who willingly give up a percentage of their earnings. And if they do, I have another term for it: "charity". When the state taxes its citizens and the corporations in the country, they steal wealth from the productive and fund things which would be unprofitable in the free market. When the government taxes a company, they are claiming a right to the time, produce, efforts, and wealth of that company (and by extension, the employees).

I recently discovered that Hospitals can only be built with approval of the President and Congress. Does anyone else see the horrifying ramifications of this? While I value the Q5 hospital in Alberta, my concern is that Congress no longer cares about building any others. And why should they? The constant refrain heard is "move to Alberta!". This is not fair, and it certainly is not free. Citizens and companies with the required amount of wealth should be free to build such things as they see fit. This reliance on the government can only lead to back-door bribery, favourtism, and neglect towards certain territories.

Going forward, I truly believe that the freest citizens are the ones with less government influence in their life. Government officials ought to encourage the free and open market by reducing taxes, ending meaningless programs, and minding it's own business. When Canada is finally re-united, will Alberta remain the only province with a Q5 hospital? Will the State assault corporations with ghastly high tax rates? Will I be able to find a decent prime rib in Smithers, or will I be forced to travel to Vancouver? Only time will tell.

Thank you so much for reading this installment of CLM.