well, this is going to be my last post of the year. sad, even though it is quite possible that nobody has even read anything i've written. but if you have, then this is the end of the subscription.
i'm just going to reflect on my gameplay throughout the semester, and analyze how it has related to a class about economics. i would have to say that if this was strictly an economics course, then the hours devoted to gaming would have been a total and utter waste. i feel that the game deals a lot more with the development of nation states and survival strategies than anything else. however, since our course also doubles as a history class, the game becomes much more relevant. it ties in a lot of specifics in terms how things game to be.
the only thing that i could say that would have made the game more relavent is that maybe it could have made the person who was engaging in the campaign cope and deal with the events that went down. i feel like some of the major societal changes that occurred (like the rise and fall of feudalism for example) went more or less unnoticed. when in reality, they were some of the most important economic developments that our world has ever seen. i just feel that it led me to only find new ways to complete the game, not question why things were happening.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
the importance of keeping up with the times
another article that i recently read on economist.com, dealt with a little bit of history. how appropriate for this class right? yea, that's what i thought when i read it. lucked out i guess. anyways, the article essentially lays down the importance of taking advantage of an absolute advantage. sorry for the redundancy. it also gives a real life example of how important it is in today's growing world (largely the fault of globalization) to 'keep up with the times,' and accept the fact that the free-market society is sweeping across the globe. resistance is futile.
this is most definitely the case with the country of ghana...not so much with north korea. back in the 1960's, the gnp per head for each of the two countries was approximately $390 american. however, a series of events have lead north korea to currently posses the 9th largest economy in the world, and ghana to be stuck at the 94th. to make a long story short, when ghana gained independence from britain back in the 1957, the first president instilled a pan-african socialist ideology within the country. back then, ghana had a world-wide absolute advantage in producing cocoa. the administration of ghana unfortunately set the market price of cocoa at 25 cents per pound, and stepped in as the third party in international trade. they sold the cocoa to the rest of the world at market price, which was 50 cents per pound, using the profits for other governmental operations. this caused the cocoa farmers to abstain from farming cocoa, and they turned to farming other crops. this, combined with a number of extremely high tariffs on imports, created a protectionist philosophy that kept ghana's economy stuck in the past.
north korea, who was an economic equal to ghana until their independence, slowly crept up in the 'world rankings.' the north korean government essentially eliminated all of their tariffs, and issued corporate incentives for firms that traded internationally. even though they had to 'sacrifice' a generation (by sacrifice i mean that north korea had a very educated work force at the time, who mainly farmed. however, they stopped farming, and moved to working in the factories), it proved to greatly benefit the welfare of the country as a whole. north korea recognized the change in the international playing field, and largely reaped the benefits.
once again, this may seem to be a vague connection to civilization iv. lets just assume that i play the game so often and so avidly that i have lost all other intellectual skills, and am having a hard time thinking about anything else other than the game. so it's hard for me to make any connections with real life because i don't know anything else any more. i apologize if that made no sense at all, im on adderall. but through my gameplay, i have come to realize that just as in real life, the free-market society reigns supreme. trading freely with everyone not only builds your economy unlike any other method, but it builds trust and good relations with others. if you are seen as an empire that is open to trade, and will grant the occasional favor or sacrifice, then you will be payed back in the future. in a global world, much like in the game, in a large scope, free trade benefits everyone involved.
this is most definitely the case with the country of ghana...not so much with north korea. back in the 1960's, the gnp per head for each of the two countries was approximately $390 american. however, a series of events have lead north korea to currently posses the 9th largest economy in the world, and ghana to be stuck at the 94th. to make a long story short, when ghana gained independence from britain back in the 1957, the first president instilled a pan-african socialist ideology within the country. back then, ghana had a world-wide absolute advantage in producing cocoa. the administration of ghana unfortunately set the market price of cocoa at 25 cents per pound, and stepped in as the third party in international trade. they sold the cocoa to the rest of the world at market price, which was 50 cents per pound, using the profits for other governmental operations. this caused the cocoa farmers to abstain from farming cocoa, and they turned to farming other crops. this, combined with a number of extremely high tariffs on imports, created a protectionist philosophy that kept ghana's economy stuck in the past.
north korea, who was an economic equal to ghana until their independence, slowly crept up in the 'world rankings.' the north korean government essentially eliminated all of their tariffs, and issued corporate incentives for firms that traded internationally. even though they had to 'sacrifice' a generation (by sacrifice i mean that north korea had a very educated work force at the time, who mainly farmed. however, they stopped farming, and moved to working in the factories), it proved to greatly benefit the welfare of the country as a whole. north korea recognized the change in the international playing field, and largely reaped the benefits.
once again, this may seem to be a vague connection to civilization iv. lets just assume that i play the game so often and so avidly that i have lost all other intellectual skills, and am having a hard time thinking about anything else other than the game. so it's hard for me to make any connections with real life because i don't know anything else any more. i apologize if that made no sense at all, im on adderall. but through my gameplay, i have come to realize that just as in real life, the free-market society reigns supreme. trading freely with everyone not only builds your economy unlike any other method, but it builds trust and good relations with others. if you are seen as an empire that is open to trade, and will grant the occasional favor or sacrifice, then you will be payed back in the future. in a global world, much like in the game, in a large scope, free trade benefits everyone involved.
walk the walk
i'm going to be honest with everyone. i have run out of 'original' ideas to talk about in these blogs. well at least in terms of coming up with a detailed analysis of my strategies and tactics for completion of a campaign. so this week, i'm going to discuss a current event, and attempt to relate it to some current game play that is underway.
i have recently read an article in an online economics journal, which addressed president bush's current stance on a free-market society, or lack there of. the bush administration has demonstrated to much of the american public that above all else, it prizes a free-market society. however, president bush has recently signed legislation that levies a substantial tariff on the import of chinese glossy paper. this was obviously done as an effort to protect that portion of the american economy from being harmed by foreign dumping. one might not see this as being a huge deal because the glossy paper imported from china make up less than 0.1% of the total amount of chinese imports. however, what the article points out is the fact that this new tariff is going to open the floodgates for other industries to file anti-dumping claims against other nations. it is far more symbolic than anything else.
this legalisation makes the bush and his republican administration seem fickle, and may cause a number of new problems with his 'fast-track' policy that expire june 30th of this year. the point that i am trying to make while relating this to civilization iv, is that in order to be taken seriously as a prosperous nation, the government in power must stand true to it's principles. i've experienced it in the game; if i trade periodically with a myriad of different empires, with no regard to order or a pattern, you cause more problems than it's actually worth. in order to thrive, you have to choose a policy to govern by, and follow through. you have to 'walk the walk' if you're going to claim to be a free-market society or employ protectionist policies if that is your choice. you cannot dance between two or more ideologies. you will not build rapport with your trading partners, or gain the trust of your allies.
i have recently read an article in an online economics journal, which addressed president bush's current stance on a free-market society, or lack there of. the bush administration has demonstrated to much of the american public that above all else, it prizes a free-market society. however, president bush has recently signed legislation that levies a substantial tariff on the import of chinese glossy paper. this was obviously done as an effort to protect that portion of the american economy from being harmed by foreign dumping. one might not see this as being a huge deal because the glossy paper imported from china make up less than 0.1% of the total amount of chinese imports. however, what the article points out is the fact that this new tariff is going to open the floodgates for other industries to file anti-dumping claims against other nations. it is far more symbolic than anything else.
this legalisation makes the bush and his republican administration seem fickle, and may cause a number of new problems with his 'fast-track' policy that expire june 30th of this year. the point that i am trying to make while relating this to civilization iv, is that in order to be taken seriously as a prosperous nation, the government in power must stand true to it's principles. i've experienced it in the game; if i trade periodically with a myriad of different empires, with no regard to order or a pattern, you cause more problems than it's actually worth. in order to thrive, you have to choose a policy to govern by, and follow through. you have to 'walk the walk' if you're going to claim to be a free-market society or employ protectionist policies if that is your choice. you cannot dance between two or more ideologies. you will not build rapport with your trading partners, or gain the trust of your allies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)