View Single Post
Old 03-31-2021, 08:25 PM   #21
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: GURPS Realm Management: New Economy Types

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
On the original government type, I'm not sure what you're trying to describe (arguably a conventional free market involves voting for what will be produced, it's just that the voting is done with dollars). I don't have Realm Management yet so don't know the specific terms it uses, but it sounds like you're after a planned economy where the government type is a direct democracy.
It's really not like elections structurally. Imagine a society where each "election" has any number of voters who want to participate; where they get to "vote" by assigning a number; and where one person gets to say whether the assigned number counts as Yes or No (yes, I'll sell you a fish for $10; no, I won't sell you a fish for $9), and often enough to change what counts as Yes or No as the election proceeds (if a lot of people vote $20, then a $10 vote for a fish may turn into a No). And then imagine there there is no central elective process, but anyone can initiate an election when and where they like.

The existence of a single central voting process, as a bottleneck for decision making, makes the system significantly different, and its implications need to be considered.

Yes, I know that "economic democracy" and "voting with your dollars" are common metaphors. But "auction" is a better metaphor than "vote." (For that matter, it might be interesting to model a political system as an auction where laws are made for the highest bidder—though it might sound cynical!)
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is offline   Reply With Quote