NationStates Jolt Archive

A lot of us have been wondering this. I just did a search on Google and found only about 5 mentions that weren't references to NationStates, and some of those were misspellings. One of them was an anti-Semitic forum.

Here's my theory:

The "Z" is a reference to "warez" type culture. You know, warez, gamez, appz, whateverz. Put a Z in instead of an S to indicate it is pirated/cracked. I believe the original reason for this was to attract search engine hits by those in the know. So, maybe "Capitalizm" is capitalizm on a cracker/warez basis - i.e. unregulated, no property rights, feel free to pirate other people'z goodz and pass them off as your own.

The otehr thought I had was it could be a hint at Slavic languages and the condition of the ex-communist countries of the warsaw Pact. Particularly those with powerful mafiaz and no standardz of international property rightz.

Thoughtz anyone?

And - what the hell is a New York Times Democracy? Does the NYT have a clear political position in its editorials that this category matches?

and what about 'Scandinavian' Liberal Paradise?

Maybe it's because US english has all those "z"'s where UK english has "s"'s, like in "colonization", "civilization", etc.? And as the USA, as it appears to me, is the most capitalistic nation in the world, that would fit...

A lot of us have been wondering this. I just did a search on Google and found only about 5 mentions that weren't references to NationStates, and some of those were misspellings. One of them was an anti-Semitic forum.

Here's my theory:

The "Z" is a reference to "warez" type culture. You know, warez, gamez, appz, whateverz. Put a Z in instead of an S to indicate it is pirated/cracked. I believe the original reason for this was to attract search engine hits by those in the know. So, maybe "Capitalizm" is capitalizm on a cracker/warez basis - i.e. unregulated, no property rights, feel free to pirate other people'z goodz and pass them off as your own.

The otehr thought I had was it could be a hint at Slavic languages and the condition of the ex-communist countries of the warsaw Pact. Particularly those with powerful mafiaz and no standardz of international property rightz.

Thoughtz anyone?

And - what the hell is a New York Times Democracy? Does the NYT have a clear political position in its editorials that this category matches?
I'm inclined to think your latter statement is correct.

The USA in Jennifer Government would have had a Capitalizt UN Ranking.

Maybe it's because US english has all those "z"'s where UK english has "s"'s, like in "colonization", "civilization", etc.? And as the USA, as it appears to me, is the most capitalistic nation in the world, that would fit...

No, it's just a misspelling, used to take the piss, basically...

psychotic dictatorship should be renamed "fascist morons" 8)
and there should be a un ranking called communizt

It's just one of the many mysterious quirks of the game whos true answer remains ambiguous to everyone except Max himself, [violet] and possibly some Senior mods . This must be atleast the fifth thread about this that I have seen since I joined NS and maybe that is its purpose, to inspire threads and to see what kind of answers people can come up with.

Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.

...or you could read the book, where the acknowledgments section mentions that a friend of Max suggested that the book be called "Capitalizm".

'Capitalizm' is used frequently in the book to describe a society where corporations rival the government in power. The USA has taken over much of North and South American, the British Isles, Australia, NZ, etc. The European Union is marked on the backcover map as "Here Be Tarrifs".

Capitalizm is a world where capitalism has run amuck. To the extent that a person's surname is the name of their employer; hence Jennifer Government.

...or you could read the book, where the acknowledgments section mentions that a friend of Max suggested that the book be called "Capitalizm".

'Capitalizm' is used frequently in the book to describe a society where corporations rival the government in power. The USA has taken over much of North and South American, the British Isles, Australia, NZ, etc. The European Union is marked on the backcover map as "Here Be Tarrifs".

Capitalizm is a world where capitalism has run amuck. To the extent that a person's surname is the name of their employer; hence Jennifer Government.

Senior Mod, helped to prove my point! Yay....then you disproved it in your actual post. Darn....

Yeah, but I think Hack's response is based on having read the book than being a senior mod.

...or you could read the book, where the acknowledgments section mentions that a friend of Max suggested that the book be called "Capitalizm".

'Capitalizm' is used frequently in the book to describe a society where corporations rival the government in power. The USA has taken over much of North and South American, the British Isles, Australia, NZ, etc. The European Union is marked on the backcover map as "Here Be Tarrifs".

Capitalizm is a world where capitalism has run amuck. To the extent that a person's surname is the name of their employer; hence Jennifer Government.

Hehehe, fair enough...

I haven't read the book. ;)

Yeah, but I think Hack's response is based on having read the book than being a senior mod.

Thats why I said that he disproved it....

Yeah, but I think Hack's response is based on having read the book than being a senior mod.

Thats why I said that he disproved it....

Oops, I see what you mean :oops:

and what about 'Scandinavian' Liberal Paradise?

Think Norway, Sweden, etc...

And - what the hell is a New York Times Democracy? Does the NYT have a clear political position in its editorials that this category matches?

I would say that a NYT Democracy is equivalent to a slightly left-of-center USA.

Don't take my word for it though, there's also a graphical map of UN Classifications at this site:

http://alces.sel.uaf.edu/gregg/ns/nsmap.html