(UK) Dictator Shizniz and Referendum
Day 2,681, 08:43
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Published in United Kingdom 
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by
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by Massacar
Welcome, are you lost?
A lot has happened since I last had time to write an article, and I'm only going to be talking about a bit of it.
Wayne assuming his role as dictator
So yes, Wayne's been our illustrious dictator for a while now, much to the chagrin of many in the country. One of Wayne's strengths has always been to piss a multitude of people off simultaneously, and that's often a result of him actually doing things. Yes, I'm going to state it, I'm not the biggest fan of what Wayne's done by not respecting the Pseudo-Democratic Dictatorship model we had agreed on. That being said i'm not calling for his removal.
Referendum
This referendum that is currently running is well intentioned, but flawed in design. It allows for essentially two votes to remain under a dictatorship, and one vote for revolution under its current formulation. There's absolutely no option listed for a "no-vote" or anything similar for those of us who may disagree with how the referendums set up. Based on these structural flaws I find it somewhat difficult to take the results too seriously, and would prefer if we did it over again with a more thorough referendum.
Now I will discuss some of the actual issues that will arise from the possible results of this referendum.
Option 1: "Organise a Revolution"
Money
It's really quite expensive. As has been mentioned by Max Blue and others, 200k cc is quite a bit of cash and it's unclear as to where the funding to oust Wayne would be coming from.
This isn't even looking at the funds that would be required to win the battles to oust Wayne, and subsequently work to defend our democracy against foreign incursions.
Fire Power
Our damage will be split between those who don't think returning to democracy is safe and those who wish to go back to the days of yore. This will end up tying into the money as CO's will most likely need to be placed to reclaim the government, and it won't be cheap in damage or money.
Vulnerability
Congratulations, assuming that Wayne's been deposed, we have a democracy again. Now we have to work to fight off every rich player with an MU who wants his own island nation to own.
Option 2: "Remain under the current Dictatorship"
Not actually a democracy
Yeah we hold elections and we make PMs, but only Wayne has power. Not to mention that the congressmen can no longer acquire their precious gold from their medals (I mean, why else would you run for office). Instead we can only do our best to work with the Dictator, Wayne and hope he listens.
Money
As has been pointed out in the first Option, it's really f%cking expensive to get rid of a malevolent or inept dictator. Luckily for us, Wayne doesn't qualify as either at the moment.
The Upside
No forigs can wander in with their cash and an MU and just try to take over the place, at least not without first deposing the dictator then suppressing the democracy.
Option 3: "Elected Country President is appointed Dictator"
Still not really a democracy
This is in effect the law that we drafted right when this whole business started. After each election the Dictator would pass the position to the duly elected CP, and congress gets to have their PMs and have discussion and hold votes, it's still just one person pressing the button.
Still open to robbery
Lets face it UK, we've been pretty unlucky in the past few years with some of our presidents. BigAnt and Chewchewshoe to name a few, who robbed us blind. Obviously the Dictator has the same exact potential as a CP when it comes to lying to and robbing us, so you need to hope for a benevolent overseeing dictator (more like option 2), otherwise we're just as vulnerable to this risk as ever.
Unenforceable
There's no way to enforce this rule outside of having to spend at minimum 400k cc to oust the Dictator and then put up a proper parliamentary dictator. This is an obvious problem.
This is by no means an exhaustive list and I encourage everyone to think of any other possible pros and cons.
If it wasn't apparent before to some of you, it should be now. There is no obviously good option, but some are worse than others.
Join UKRP
We have fun with this game because we remember that essential fact, plus we're running things like this tournament and have one of the most positive and active feeds of all the parties.
tl;dr
Referendum needs work
There's no good option for our future, but working with a dictator is a better option.
Join UKRP
A lot has happened since I last had time to write an article, and I'm only going to be talking about a bit of it.
Wayne assuming his role as dictator
So yes, Wayne's been our illustrious dictator for a while now, much to the chagrin of many in the country. One of Wayne's strengths has always been to piss a multitude of people off simultaneously, and that's often a result of him actually doing things. Yes, I'm going to state it, I'm not the biggest fan of what Wayne's done by not respecting the Pseudo-Democratic Dictatorship model we had agreed on. That being said i'm not calling for his removal.
Referendum
This referendum that is currently running is well intentioned, but flawed in design. It allows for essentially two votes to remain under a dictatorship, and one vote for revolution under its current formulation. There's absolutely no option listed for a "no-vote" or anything similar for those of us who may disagree with how the referendums set up. Based on these structural flaws I find it somewhat difficult to take the results too seriously, and would prefer if we did it over again with a more thorough referendum.
Now I will discuss some of the actual issues that will arise from the possible results of this referendum.
Option 1: "Organise a Revolution"
Money
It's really quite expensive. As has been mentioned by Max Blue and others, 200k cc is quite a bit of cash and it's unclear as to where the funding to oust Wayne would be coming from.
This isn't even looking at the funds that would be required to win the battles to oust Wayne, and subsequently work to defend our democracy against foreign incursions.
Fire Power
Our damage will be split between those who don't think returning to democracy is safe and those who wish to go back to the days of yore. This will end up tying into the money as CO's will most likely need to be placed to reclaim the government, and it won't be cheap in damage or money.
Vulnerability
Congratulations, assuming that Wayne's been deposed, we have a democracy again. Now we have to work to fight off every rich player with an MU who wants his own island nation to own.
Option 2: "Remain under the current Dictatorship"
Not actually a democracy
Yeah we hold elections and we make PMs, but only Wayne has power. Not to mention that the congressmen can no longer acquire their precious gold from their medals (I mean, why else would you run for office). Instead we can only do our best to work with the Dictator, Wayne and hope he listens.
Money
As has been pointed out in the first Option, it's really f%cking expensive to get rid of a malevolent or inept dictator. Luckily for us, Wayne doesn't qualify as either at the moment.
The Upside
No forigs can wander in with their cash and an MU and just try to take over the place, at least not without first deposing the dictator then suppressing the democracy.
Option 3: "Elected Country President is appointed Dictator"
Still not really a democracy
This is in effect the law that we drafted right when this whole business started. After each election the Dictator would pass the position to the duly elected CP, and congress gets to have their PMs and have discussion and hold votes, it's still just one person pressing the button.
Still open to robbery
Lets face it UK, we've been pretty unlucky in the past few years with some of our presidents. BigAnt and Chewchewshoe to name a few, who robbed us blind. Obviously the Dictator has the same exact potential as a CP when it comes to lying to and robbing us, so you need to hope for a benevolent overseeing dictator (more like option 2), otherwise we're just as vulnerable to this risk as ever.
Unenforceable
There's no way to enforce this rule outside of having to spend at minimum 400k cc to oust the Dictator and then put up a proper parliamentary dictator. This is an obvious problem.
This is by no means an exhaustive list and I encourage everyone to think of any other possible pros and cons.
If it wasn't apparent before to some of you, it should be now. There is no obviously good option, but some are worse than others.
Join UKRP
We have fun with this game because we remember that essential fact, plus we're running things like this tournament and have one of the most positive and active feeds of all the parties.
tl;dr
Referendum needs work
There's no good option for our future, but working with a dictator is a better option.
Join UKRP
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Discord
Comments
I voted for option 3 because, whilst I know that this opens a second route to stealing the treasury, it incorporates a bit of democracy and dictatorship.
The problem is that this isn't enforceable. The only way we can ensure that a dictator will hand over power is by having 200,000cc of private funds and a load of tanks. Even then, this is just an incentive for the dictator to hand over power, and not a guarantee.
So, we face grim options, but in my opinion this could potentially be the most sustainable and fairest.
I planned on having that in the article and forgot by the time I got there lol
Added it.
Hehe, it's cool, I do that (as you can tell) with most of my articles.
I'm going to come back and endorse this when I get my endorse mission. \o/
You cheap bastards, at least give him 25cc.
Still not on the mission though, probably will never be
Well Huey has been muttering for the last few weeks about a referendum should happen and then suddenly he opens a vote without any prior public discussion... And then the whole thing is half baked where even if "Dispose Wayne" option is the winner under the First Past The Post voting method, the majority of the people aren't going to be voting to dispose Wayne. You are going to have the dumb method where there might be a mandate to dispose Wayne supported by a minority of the public.
This is going to end in tears...
oh the irony.
Irony in what way?
The referendum should have been proposed to congress, the question to ask properly discussed so that we got could get a clear answer, and then proposed to citizens.
This shows how deep our problems with the concept of Congress are.
Neither the dictator nor the current CP's first reaction is to ask Congress for input. While mostly harmless, nice enough guys, they both (as were quite a few former CPs) prepared to sit back and wait for a reaction from Congress instead of actively engaging as the 41st congress member (with executive privilege). Congress are perceived as an obstacle to rule instead of a means to ensure good governance. We seem to have a deep cultural problem in the eUK where we only get involved when things go wrong while leaving the executive to their own devices... which is why things do go wrong.
This saga is just the latest in an executive rule attitude that does not take consequences seriously. We need to claim back our democracy and actively embrace a more participative democracy.
This is something for all of the eUK to discuss and come to an agreement about, not just Congress. Congress have proven time and time again that it does not care.
Where are the articles explaining to the people you represent what is happening, why it's happeing and what you as an elected member of Congress are doing? You want the execuitve to respect you? I have always found respect is easier to gain when you respect yourself first.
I suggest you have a look at the media -- I have read numerous articles on the subject now. Generally, a referendum does need a broad discussion window before the vote, but the matter has been public since the illegal coup and the failure to hand over the MU to the elected CP.
The reason Congress discuss it first is because they are elected by the citizenships to represent them in such matters. The 40 voices should representing the spectrum of British society. When having a detailed discussion on a proposal to the public then fewer voices is simply more practical. This is why Congress exists. We are not leaders, we are representatives of public opinion. A good executive puts up with Congress to remain in touch.
If Congress do their job of representing people, then you can successfully predict the outcome of the referendum from the Congress discussions. IF the job was not done right then we discover "issues".
Where is my article? No new one needed. My initial article a week ago lays out the matter clearly (http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/dictatorship-delusions-2507171/1/20). There are now several other articles that spell out the position more clearly. I have stated, I also have publicly commented on all articles I see to reinforce this view. I do not think there is any doubt as to where I fall on this.
Some may even say that the initial article followed by lobbying in Congress brought this matter to a burn. I say its simply because the majority of us have tapped into the general discontent with the condescending treatment citizens get from leaders who forget where the power comes from.
Time to enforce our will one way or the other. This farce ends now.
Congress are elected purely on the basis of them being active enough on the days needed to nominate themselves for the role. You then sit and hope that come election day the PP has kindly put you in a 'winning' seat.
Congress are not the voice of eUK
Congress are not a cross section of eUK
Congress do not consult with the eUK
When was the last time Congress bothered to converse with the population, when was the last time it asked the nation it's opinion? It can't even decide amongst itself the best place for discussion or how best to operate Citizenship passes. It makes snap judgements without consulting anyone outside apart from maybe a few friends, this is how Congress has always ran in my 10 terms, I see nothing different in this term. What you are speaking of is an ideal Congress, something we have never had in my time playing. You need to actually come back to reality and open your eyes. Stop living in this fantasy world and work out the best way to utilise these new mechanics!
Your article just gave your opinion on the matter. I see the same names cropping up with the same arguments, I don't see a general discontent at all. If urging people to get active, write articles expressing their opinion on a very important matter that could and most probably will fundamentally effect how eUK operates and generally taking an active role in the eUK as condescending them I'm guilty as charged.
So cynical. You should perhaps try join a real political party. Just saying.
Which parties?
The one who can't seem to find a proper PP?
or
The one that has spent months in-fighting?
or
The one that is a collection of Trolls and meme posters?
or
The one that up until this month had a perma-PP?
or
PCP?
The collection of trolls and meme posters of course. We actually do stuff and don't kill each other over it.
Again the "only my way is right" attitude.
If you don't agree with the PP, join another party.
If do not like the feed, join another party.
If you do not like the internal dynamic, then join another party.
If you don't like the cult of personality, then join another party.
And jf PCP eventually fails your exacting standard, then start another party.
I would recommend steering clear of forcibly PTOing what you don't like, but I understand you don't get why breaking other people's toys to advance your own agenda is not okay.
If your way has value, then you will gather support from the like minded anyway. Its the differences that keep eRep relevant for everyone and creates that frustration with the world that keeps you coming back for more.
You arethe one telling me to 'join a real party' I was simply asking which Party you deem as being real, because from what I see, no eUK party does what you suggest they do.
We are in a Different Game since the introduction of the Dictator Module. Let us face facts Congress is no longer relevant. The CP is no longer relevant. Having the correct Dictator in place is paramount.
Wake up the game has changed.
So, how is that correct dictator determined? Guy with the most cash?
Or.... wild idea... appoint the elected CP dictator 8.
[removed]
I like the words and the pictures. Gold star.
I wanted to use the Elf gif and had to work a way in to make it semi relevant.
No links to music on your pics though...downgrading you to silver star 😛
I've made mistakes, but I believe that
Everything was worth the fight
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/1-2509724/1/20