NationStates Jolt Archive

[OOC: Chances are that I won't be here until mid-afternoon Saturday, since I probably will have to go to work, although I might be able to get on at work. So, I'm putting up the thread, and on Saturday the discussions can begin.

For those that don't know what FINTERCON is, it's a meeting between capitalist nations. You can sign up until Saturday on this thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=413514).

For those who have joined the conference, just assume you are in the room, and speak whenever you would like to. Remember, this officially starts Saturday, although you can post introductory role plays and such.]

Emperor Jonach I raised his glass of wine, looking over the crowd of fellow world leaders, or their representatives. He was glad that FINTERCON had conjured around his banner. The world needed non-violent Capitalist initiave, and it needed a resurged WTO, even if it was under a different name. FINTERCON would offer him the base for that organization. He had hoped for a greater presence of nations, but only a select few decided to join. Perhaps his Empire was not taken as serious. He shrugged. Those who came would prosper, does who didn't would have to wait for the second conference, or be late commers to the consequent bloc that would rise from FINTERCON.

He opened his mouth and began to speak, keeping his grace, "Welcome nations of the Capitalist world. I welcome you to the Imperial Palace of Fedala. May we all drink our wine in toast of the perks of being capitalist, especially, when even your citizens have palaces of their own!"

http://www.picturesfree.org/spainclyde/madrid%20palace%20square.jpg

He continued without a pause,"I will start our meeting by expressing the main topics of discussion, and our current view on them."

He took a deep breath, and then went on, "First of all, I believe that a succesful trade organization, or a group of nations who practice capitalism, and have joined in a conference such as this to work in tandem, must agree to the reduction of trade barriers. The reduction of trade barriers is absolutely necessary for the creation of free trade, and free trade as a result will thrive. According to economic theory a trade which thrives will thus result in a nation which prospers. So, one of the largest agreements we must come to is at what point, and to what point, to reduce trade barriers.

Second of all, like the World Bank in the United States, we must create an international bank, or at least one that nations who sign any treaty that comes out of this conference joins. Meaning, our economies will not only be inter-dependent, but supportive of each other. With a 'group effort' the entire conference might prosper. As the notion goes, two heads is better than one.

Third of all, Communism has a tendency to expand against unwilling enemies. However, this I believe should no longer be a main point. We must not worry about war, only about trade. We can worry about war if our next point becomes a reality.

Fourth, I believe that the capitalist nations of this world should join in what would be a resurgent World Trade Organization, of course under a different name - which would be disputed amongst us. This alliance, bloc, organization - whatever you may want to call it - would regulate trade, prices, and trade barriers. In essence, it would be a government body on international trade, ensuring the success of member nations.

Now, I have spoken long enough. What do you think?"

He sat down on his golden chair, facing the rest of his fellow colleagues and awaited their response.

IC:

Septimus Augusta, Heir to the mighty Imperial Guilder Empire sat in a comfortable chair with Sythix his personal slave behind him, of course few people even in the Imperial Court circles knew that they would be married at some point soon and he had already removed the bonds of her slavery from her. But facades had to be kept up... for the time being at least.

Septimus raised his glass with Emperor Jonach to the success of the meeting... he wanted to engender good relations with the Macabean Government, partly because he had plans for it in his grand schemes to massively expand the Imperial Guilder Empire after his Father's death.

He responded to Jonach's opening speech by standing up and stating as a way of response:

The Imperial Guilder Empire will stand with the Empire of the Golden Throne on this matter and we accept the Emperor's treatise in the general fashion as how it has been presented.

We want this organisation to become a symbol to the world of the Guilder and Macabean Empire's are no longer at odds with each other, as well as bringing new found wealth to our great citizens.

We will of course be perusing the detail of this prospective treaty/organisation very carefully and will be looking out for Guild interests to the best of our ability.

A sleepy Monika remaind sitting in one of the lavish chairs provided. She had been awake the entire night prior to this meeting, reviewing preposed economic changes which her removal from the constitutional debates had prevented from being discussed further. Now those documents sat in a manila folder on her lap.

The opening words, "Welcome nations of the Capitalist world. I welcome you to the Imperial Palace of Fedala. May we all drink our wine in toast of the perks of being capitalist, especially, when even your citizens have palaces of their own!" prompted a chuckle of laughter from both the Minister of the Ecnomy and her single guard, standing darkly behind her chair. She hadn't expected to have a speaking role in these discussions, but perhaps she would have to respond....

[OOC: Fancy tag for later]

Andre Cirtus’ eyes flicked around the room.

“Gentlemen,” he began in his patrician accent, “I feel the cause of international economic liberalization, and the specific matter here, trade liberalization is in the interest of all mankind. Even the Bible speaks of free trade; it is such an enlightened doctrine. I feel that in these discussions Emperor Jonach does not go far enough. We need absolute trade liberalization, that includes the complete abolition of all tariffs, subsidies and trade regulations.

Governments refusing to economically liberalize must be made to do so, for the good of their citizens. As we speak, Farmina is at war with the Socialist scum known as Rosians. We alone are in the fight to liberalize this market. Farminan forces have recently liberated the nation of New Kingdom from its socialist oppressors and have brought it into the world of economic liberalization. I call upon all people here to join Farmina in its great mission to create freedom, and as an economic manifestation of that freedom, capitalist markets.

We are fully willing to support the mentioned global bank, but I am concerned by the phrase ‘regulate trade, prices and trade barriers.’ As I said before I see that we need complete abolition of trade barriers, and to add to that, regulation of trade and prices is purely unacceptable, it amounts to dangerous leftism.”

With that the Chancellor for Trade fell silent.

The Supreme Commander smiled, he knew these were people he could trust.

Standing he said, "I am glad we all recognize the dangers of socialist economic system. As history has proven, socialism has corrupted and made poor nations that could otherwise be great. The communist and socialist threat must be erradicated! Not nesecarily through the means of arms, but a economic war might work aswell. Trade regulations must be lifted, tarrifs abolished, and price barriers reduced as low as possible."

He sat back down.

"Good lord, I hate to sound ever so rude, but you suggest we beat the leftist threat and liberate the oppressed through trade warfare," critiqued Andre Cirtus, "That is very noble in spirit I am sure, but I do question; how you are going to win a game when the enemy refuses to play?"

Emperor Robinson Antares Scorpius sat still, stroking his chin as he watched the others make their opening statements. Now, he decided it was his turn. The emperor stood, hands folded behind his back, and spoke out.

"The Grand Imperium of Risban thanks the honorable Macabean empire for allowing us to attend this grand conference," he began. "I am most pleased by what has been set down for the most part. The Risban Empire is most interested in lowering trade barriers, but we are firmly against the complete liberalization of them, as the honorable Farminan delegate has suggested. Many nations require slight trade regulations and prices to keep their economy stimulated. Much of the Grand Imperium's economic gan from our trade relies on our regulations on trade. We will reduce trade barriers, but we cannot bring ourselves to abolish them altogether.

Concerning the creation of an international bank, we would be most interested in this. I am sure that many of the Imperial banks located within Risban would be more than willing to help the creation of a world bank.

As for Communism, the Grand Imperium of Risban is most eager to halt its spread. While we are against attacking and invading current communist countries, we are strong supporters of anti-communist politicians in various nations and even against turning the tides of some wars against communist factions, such as the present war in Upper Xen.

And we believe that the creation of a strong organization, like that of the former WTO, is necessary to truly prosper. In order to protect our interests, we will need protection. The Risban Imperial Navy has always done such, and is more than willing to do so for other nations in this conference.

Lastly, we do have a suggestion concerning the trade and regulation of fossil fuels. Risban has an abundance of oil, as I am sure other nations do, among other things such as coal and natural gas. If we are able to create a small sub-group within FINTERCON that is somewhat like OPEC, I am sure it will be most beneficial."


Finished, he retook his seat.

Jeremy Warden sat back and let the other nations share their views. Ameracadia is not an economic power like the other nations sitting at the table. We are small but we are strong, and we are thriving. Warden was here to ensure that his nations current prosperity would continue for years to come. Maybe, he thought, this would be what it takes to make Ameracadia an economic super power in the near future. The talking seemed to paused for a moment, he took this opportunity to share his views on what was already said.

"I tend to agree with my friend Scorpius. We are willing to discuss the status of trade barriers, but right now we do not think removing them entirely would be best.

Our nation has outlawed products that our government has deemed harmful to individuals or society. Most importantly is our ban on cigarettes and other drugs, and many kinds of weapons for public ownership. We hope that our laws will be respected by other member nations. Our bans have lead to a war on drugs with underground organized crime. If there are other nations here also ingaged in a war on drugs we would like to propose an organization to collectivize information on elements inside our nations that wish to subvert the will of their government.

I fully support the creation of a world bank.

I would like to second Risban's suggestion for an OPEC organization, as Ameracadia is rich in oil and natural gas."

"While all this talking about "liberating" nations markets is nice..."

Richard began, straighting his military suit up.

"It's nay on impossible. We may, and probably will have to go through dozens, if not hundreds of wars to abolish all the tariffs, embargos, and such from the world..."

He stated.

"...Not that the Divine Reich doesnt mind obliterating nations in wars..."

He finished.

Andre Cirtus had been left mildly alarmed by the statements of the Risbanian and Amercadian delegates; and interrupted the introductions again.
"Good sirs, we are here to talk about the liberalisation of international economies and you talk of setting up a supra-national monopoly. I have two concerns about this. First we would face far more competition than OPEC ever would have, thus making the idea completely unfeasible. The second is far more serious; that you actually contemplated the idea. You good sirs, have thrown a dark shadow over your motives. You talk of tariff reduction, but I think you talk of it more else where than your own country. If the members here are more interested in cheating consumers in their own country and others, than working productively for the benefit for the people of all nations, I don't think Farmina wants any part in this. The same applies for tariff and subsidy reduction. This can’t be about pleasing lobby groups and marginal electorates."

Julian Falkenberg stood, and raised his glass. He began to speak.

"I would first like to thank His Excellency Jonach I for hosting this conference. It is high time we answered the innumberable leftist alliances with one of our own.

Now, many of you, my esteemed colleagues, are proposing one of two things to deal with the socialist and communist threat; war, through either military or economic means. However, I would like to broach a third front. We must ask ourselves, why are so many otherwise intelligent, decent human beings drawn into the Leftist ideology, when so much fact and logic is arrayed against it? The answer is simple: the Left, for too long, has appearred to hold the moral high ground. Standing for equality and freedom, it does not matter if they succeed, for failures can always be blamed on capitalist treachery.

Think of it. Who would not want to live in a society that is free? If we are truly to combat the Left, we must prove to the impressionable world that the promises of the Left are empty and hollow. We must reclaim the moral high ground if we are to succeed in the long term."

After finishing, he sat, and waited for other delegates to speak.

IC:

Septimus considered the points put before him by the other nations and then decided that after the next representative had spoken he would speak up.

I agree with the honoured delegates whom state that we cannot form a trade bloc, I believe this is not possible especially as the Imperial Guilder Empire is part of a customs union known as the Union of World Powers.

However as for a unique product trade bloc, we also feel this to be near impossible due to the many nations whom carry resources of many kinds. We would simply be victims of predatory pricing, especially in todays ruthless resource markets.

As for the gradual liberalisation of our markets to non-members of the Right Wing Collective or the Union of World Powers, we would be willing to do this if the incentives were right. However, we would remind nations that our laws especially those concerning slaves are non-negotiable.

As for the Left, we in the Imperial Guilder Empire feel it would be nessacary to keep an open dialogue with those who do not understand the great benefits of capitalism, however we do advocate stopping the Red and Proletariat menace with economic power or even by force if no other method is really adequate. To this end we already have ICCB, which does good works across the less fortunate nations in the name of God and his true Church.

To this end we suggust this group set up a World Forum or perhaps an International University to counter such revolutionary and dangerous ideals that penetrate the ranks of some of the Intelligencia, let alone the massed ranks of the Proletariat whom must be kept under the control of their better for the good of the state and the world.

Sepitmus then sat down and again, sipping his re-filled glass handed to him by Sythix, who stood reassuring behind him in case he needed any moral support.

Abigail Kleinwald then got up and spoke.

I agree with the Guilders that we must form some sort of school to combat the insidious ideals of the Red. The Reunited States and its partners in the Combine of Enlightened States are unilaterally opposed to Communist expansion.

However, I agree with the Risbanians that total removal of trade barriers and regulation is not the best way to aid the respective economies of this group. The Farminan Delegate calls this leftism, but my experience has shown that some economic regulation, done paternistically, lowers the appeal of Communism. The RSA/CES Alliance has laws allowing unions, tariffs, government charted corporations and regulations on outsourcing, and when surveyed, we have achieved very high, sincere worker satisfaction. I find worker staisfaction a very powerful ally to have to fight the Red; this means he has no one to find solace in, no one to corrupt. Why would a man listen to Communism when he is happy?

I do accept the idea of a world bank. As for an oil trade association like OPEC, I am for it. The RSA/CES Alliance has oil reserves in Africa and parts of Wyoming that may very well prove useful. Indeed, I have been instructed to push for the joint development of atomic energy resources, too.

We must also create some kind of active counter-organization to the Worldwide Mir Initiative. The WMI seeks to spread the Red heresy across the world, we must contain, nay, contract it.

We must also issue some kind of statement defining just what human rights are. Obviously, they are life, liberty, and property. Simple as that. If we can define them, then we deny the Red another valuable weapon, as the Red, in the past, has interpreted human rights too loosely.

bump

Emperor Scorpius retook the floor one Abigail was finished.

"I stand firm behind my opinion concerning the complete disintegration of trade barriers. Should such a thing happen, I am quite certain that myself and several of the other honourable delegates at this meeting will leave without thinking twice. We stand by a reduction of barriers, and only a reduction.

Concerning the creation of a group such as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it would be extremely beneficial to all members involved within this group, whether they produce fossil fuels or not. For, if it is run through FINTERCON, all nations will prosper from it. It would allow nations within this conference to get cheaper fuel. Nations outside of this group will be the ones who would suffer expensive prices should there be a massive shortage of fuel.
Being a present member of the reformed OPEC, I am quite sure that we will not gain too much competition from the group, as its member nations are inactive, rendering the organization nearly defunct. Now is the time we should seize the market and make profits for all of our nations and our people.

As for Communism, we agree that we should begin a process of educating the world about the dangers and failures of the Reds and the benefits of capitalism."


At that, the Risbanian emperor sat down to allow the others to put in their opinions and input.

Emperor Scorpius retook the floor one Abigail was finished.

"I stand firm behind my opinion concerning the complete disintegration of trade barriers. Should such a thing happen, I am quite certain that myself and several of the other honourable delegates at this meeting will leave without thinking twice. We stand by a reduction of barriers, and only a reduction.

Concerning the creation of a group such as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it would be extremely beneficial to all members involved within this group, whether they produce fossil fuels or not. For, if it is run through FINTERCON, all nations will prosper from it. It would allow nations within this conference to get cheaper fuel. Nations outside of this group will be the ones who would suffer expensive prices should there be a massive shortage of fuel.
Being a present member of the reformed OPEC, I am quite sure that we will not gain too much competition from the group, as its member nations are inactive, rendering the organization nearly defunct. Now is the time we should seize the market and make profits for all of our nations and our people.

As for Communism, we agree that we should begin a process of educating the world about the dangers and failures of the Reds and the benefits of capitalism."


At that, the Risbanian emperor sat down to allow the others to put in their opinions and input.

Abigail said:

"I agree with the idea of the Risbanians, perhaps we should do the same for the peaceful use of atomic resources? Nuclear power is very efficent, and very inexpensive in the long run; it would be wise to form a trade organization to coordinate peaceful atomic development now and gain a foothold in this market."

"Again, I agree with the Risbanians, and we should issue some Definition of Human Rights as part of any education effort to deny the Reds any moral ground."

President Harsimran Got Up:

I agree we must create an economic alliance. This alliance will feature no tarriffs, lift all trade barriers, and cooperation in developing the econonmy of lagging capitalist countries. Also the idea about a World Bank for capitalist would be great. The bank would provide loans to capitalist countries and even a bank account for members. But the problem arises that what currency will the bank issue? I consider the idea that we should create a common currency between our members, although we can still use our own currencies in other affairs if the nation wishs.

Another aspect we should think about is a military organization suggested by my fellow collegues here. It would not be a aggressor alliance but a defender alliance that protects the capitalist interests from aggression. It could provide safety for members-only or any capitalist nation.

After Presenting his idea President Harsimran sat down to hear the opinions of other delegates.

Jonach took a second to allow the information blasted back and forth by the other world leaders sink in. He then stood up again and began his own rhetoric,"Yes, competition. We face much of it. However, a strong economic organization, something that resembles a union between the World Trade Organization and OPEC, as well as any other major special good bloc, would be prime, and it would allow the nations inside it to prosper head and shoulders above the rest. Once other see our success they will only flock to join.

This organization, something I envisioned calling International Convention of Capitalist Sovereigns, or INTERCON, would be a democratically built organization, led by a single president, who is voted into office for the specified term [RL month], and then another voting procedure begins. The president would have the power to veto anything voted past the legislature, to be explained next, and is the public spokesperson of the organization.

The legislature will be made up of two officials for each major subcategory of the organization. Meaning, if we have a subcategory for petroleum we'll need two legislatures for it. As of now I envision three, petroleum, foodstuff, and other, meaning a total of six legislatures. Then, we'll have another five, voted for a month's term - the two for each subcategory voted for life, or until impeached - who will reside over the entire organization as a counterweight to the president.

There will also be three judges who are chosen for the impeachment process of either the president, or anybody in the legislature. Of course, in order for the impeachment process to go through they would have form a unanimous coalition with the other branch of the organization's government, meaning two-thirds of the organization's government has to agree - two-thirds of the branches, that is. The judges would also have the power to review any decision made by the president or legislature to see if it's within complete legality in accordance with any charter we brew up.

The organization would also have to explain the idea of the reduction of trade barriers. I completely agree with Farmina, and I see that the complete reduction, as in completely erasing, trade barriers is the best way to go. For those economies that believe that tarriffs are the only way an economy would survive it wouldn't matter much because every single country in the organization would have trade barriers emplaced against 'foreign' markets, or markets not in the organization. Moreover, for those inside the organization reduction of trade barriers would necessarily mean money lost. It would mean increased trade, which can easily make up for anything lost in the reduction of tarriffs.

I don't think OPEC would be able to compete against INTERCON. For one, the sheer magnitude of the amount of oil produced by INTERCON, should it come off the ground, would put OPEC to shame. Furthermore, we would be able to sell it for cheaper, and sell it to more people. We would, in short, become the prime exporters of petroleum.

Well, whatever it is, I rather hear the opinions of my follow comrades here. What do you think?

But first, INTERCON will not be expressively anti-Communist. I am not a proponent of having an active policy against Communism. Instead, I would support a more defensive policy - let them be the agressors. But again, I must pass the buck to you.

He sat back down.

The Sharinan delegate, Dr. Praviel Tres'vac, took a gentle sip of bottled water while he listened attentively towards the dialog being thrown about by the various foreign representatives and leaders. Several ideas and thoughts began forming in his mind as Praviel continued to listen. After an interdeterminate period of time, the ideas coalesced into a solid train of thought.

Just as the train of thought took off, the Macabeean Emperor spoke. Upon the conclusion of the Emperor's speech, Praviel reworked his thinking, and proceeded to apply logic to structure his thought processes. His train of thought took on a form of a list, neatly arranged like a Santa Claus's "Good Kid - Naughty Kid" list. Praviel decided it was time to speak, bringing out his thoughts to air in the conference. He had a simple thought before speaking that spoke volumes of Sharina's intent.

Progress, tempered by logic, shall always lift even the poorest and most underdeveloped civilizations to First Class status.

Praviel cleared his throat, as he rose slowly from his chair so not to show any sign of overt aggression. He began speaking in a light and clipped tone, conveying wisdom not influenced by emotion.

"Thank you, Emperor Jonach I.

I have several points I would like to raise, and which Sharina believes should be addressed.

First, we need to consider the issue of theft, terrorism, piracy, or copyright violations. If we have a 100% free, non-barrier, trade system in place, how can we deal with pirate raids without diverting too much military personnel to do so? How can we ensure that terrorists will not have free access to our equipment, hardware, technology, and material? How can we prevent plagizarism of our technologies, products, and ideas?

In today's world, there are plenty of ways for, shall we say, 'undesirables' to gain the benefits of our trade alliance thanks to modernized computer systems, intelligent hackers, elite spy agencies, rogue nations, and the easy access to military hardware. We must address this issue, or our free trade will be plaqued with a lot of problems, sapping it of efficiency and profitability."

Praviel took another sip of water to soothe his vocal chords before continuing.

"Second, should two FINTERCON members engage in warfare aganist each other, which side should we support? Should we eject the aggressor? Or simply remain neutral during the conflict?

Third, we need to address the issue of classified technologies and products. Should nations in FINTERCON be allowed to maintain secrecy upon their technologies or products that they do not want to be shared? For example, if Nation A develops a good rifle, will it be forced to sell the rifles to FINTERCON members as per the agreement? Or should Nation A maintain secrecy regarding the rifle, so that FINTERCON members may not inadvertenly sell the rifle to Nation A's enemies to use aganist Nation A in a possible war?

Fourth, what types of resources shall FINTERCON withhold from trading with non-FINTERCON members? We do not want our resources to fall into enemy hands, do we?

Finally, we must promote competition. Without competition, our businesses and economy will not flourish. Competition drives corporations to develop better products year by year, and competition is the necessary fuel for sustained economic and technological growth. If we go by a 100% free trade system, this may negatively impact competition, which in turn would slow down economic growth."

Dr. Praviel sat back down gently, as he took several deep breaths to regain his energy and nerves after his long speech. He looked at the other delegates with a small smile, awaiting their responses.

Jonach rose fast to respond,"That is precisely why INTERCON would have trade barriers against those not in the trade organization. Meaning, should a terrorist nation want a certain technology then the terrorist group will find an almost impregnable wall of barriers. Although, sure, these barriers will also exist against non-terrorist nations, who are also not in the organization, it will provide incentive for more members to join.

Should a member research and develop a technology not meant for exportation, or for show at that rate, then there will be no law in INTERCON which forbits the actions of concealment. The policies of INTERCON will be specifically on items of export and import, not items which are closed. The security of those itemts, however, are also not protected by INTERCON, so any security measures would have be provided by the government which conceals it.

Furthermore, INTERCON would not be a military alliance. It is to say, should a nation go to war against another nation of the alliance the other nations can take sides or remain neutral. We are here for economic development. A war between nations wouldn't be a violation of any charter that I envision, except if an amendment concerning this advent is written, and the nations taking part in the war could only be ejected from the alliance if they break any of the economic regulations of INTERCON, or specifically, anything in the chater. However, the beginnins of INTERCON are meant to be flexible, and this view can just as easily change if people want it so.

The complete reduction of trade barriers is not a blow to competition, not in the very least. Competition can still come through the aid of advertisement, and price control for certain goods not directly manipulated by INTERCON. The only goods, as said before, that are directly manipulted, are petroleum and foodstuff, at least for the time being. Moreover, with trade barriers still up against 'foreign' markets, or not markets not in INTERCON, your goods should not end up in 'enemy' hands."

Richard looked around for a moment, and noticed the Moronyicka delegate.

"Sorry to get off topic here, but I must point out it is amusing that the almighty King Jedo did not show up becaue his "nation", if you could even call that mudhole that, is not on terms with our Reich. Amusing indeed."

He stated.

President Harsimran got up:

I think that this should be a sort of military alliance. It's goals would be to protect the members of the alliance from aggression. We could even extend this to non-member capitalist nations, although this is probably going to be shot down. If two nations go to war within the alliance then we will side on the side of the non-aggressor and eject the aggressor from the alliance. A limited military alliance should have a place in FINTERCON.

How does this proposal sound?

Richard looked around for a moment, and noticed the Moronyicka delegate.

"Sorry to get off topic here, but I must point out it is amusing that the almighty King Jedo did not show up becaue his "nation", if you could even call that mudhole that, is not on terms with our Reich. Amusing indeed."

He stated.

Abigail smiled and said, "Hey, later....we might want to talk shop-we're not on good terms with him either."

Abigail then said, "An economic alliance, then? I can do that. I still have some concerns about economic soverignity; what safeguards exist to prevent economic domination and excessive outsourcing by one member? And what of atomic energy and steel? Can those be regulated by our members?"

Jonach moved to clarify, once again, "A military alliance is not a priority. Military alliances are too plentiful, and always ride along specific ideological lines. An economic organization, on the other hand, has a much more broad fan base. As you can see we have different government styles already present - a military alliance would merely undermine that.

I can't foresee economic domination by a single member of the organization. I would assume that either he would work in a group, which would mean that he wouldn't be the sole power in the alliance, or other nations would band against him - which only helps to spur competition.

As for atomic energy, I can't foresee a subcategory for it. If you mean something like fusion technology perhaps when it has further developed. Nonetheless, the general cheapness of fusion energy, when available, will undermine any attempts to channel sales through INTERCON.

As for steel, that is game for a subcategory if all the other members would agree."

Jonach moved to clarify, once again, "A military alliance is not a priority. Military alliances are too plentiful, and always ride along specific ideological lines. An economic organization, on the other hand, has a much more broad fan base. As you can see we have different government styles already present - a military alliance would merely undermine that.

I can't foresee economic domination by a single member of the organization. I would assume that either he would work in a group, which would mean that he wouldn't be the sole power in the alliance, or other nations would band against him - which only helps to spur competition.

As for atomic energy, I can't foresee a subcategory for it. If you mean something like fusion technology perhaps when it has further developed. Nonetheless, the general cheapness of fusion energy, when available, will undermine any attempts to channel sales through INTERCON.

As for steel, that is game for a subcategory if all the other members would agree."

Abigail then said, "What I mean is supplies of uranium, heavy water, and nuclear power materials like centrifuges, whatnot. Fusion is possible, if we make it first, then we can try and have a monopoly on it. I am for the control of steel by INTERCON."

Abigail then said, "What I mean is supplies of uranium, heavy water, and nuclear power materials like centrifuges, whatnot. Fusion is possible, if we make it first, then we can try and have a monopoly on it. I am for the control of steel by INTERCON."

President Harsimran Mann:

"So basically we will have a monopoly on oil exports and steel? Maybe even uranium?"

President Harsimran Mann:

"So basically we will have a monopoly on oil exports and steel? Maybe even uranium?"

Abigail said, "Why not?"

Emperor Scorpius remained silent for some time, thinking. Parliament would not like lowering trade barriers to anyone but close allies; they wouldn't like it at all. They would most likely move to overrule the Emperor's decision. However, Scorpius had before and would most likely again use the military to his advantage. Not to mention that his new wife was in control of the legislative body...
Scorpius stood.

"The Grand Imperium of Risban will accept the break-down of barriers to and only to members of INTERCON. However, should we have distasteful relations with such a member, we will not allow them free trade with us.
For this, we wish a compromise.
Just as there are nations who do not want the complete disintegration of trade barriers, there are those here who do not want an organization like OPEC being created in INTERCON. If we destroy trade barriers, we get our 'OPEC.' That is the compromise.
Through this INTERCON suborganization, we will hold monopolies on primarily fossiel fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal, and going along with what Ms. Kleinwald said, hold such power over atomic energy. Such an organization could make us extremely wealthy and powerful. I know Risban can supply oil and has several nuclear power plants... If we pull our sources together, just think how lucrative it would be to members of this conference.
And, if we gain control of things such as uranium and steel as well, as mentioned by the other honorable delegates... Just think of it.

We also agree that a military alliance is not our priority here. While we should be able to have a small force to protect our interests, we do not need another grand military alliance walking about."

Emperor Scorpius remained silent for some time, thinking. Parliament would not like lowering trade barriers to anyone but close allies; they wouldn't like it at all. They would most likely move to overrule the Emperor's decision. However, Scorpius had before and would most likely again use the military to his advantage. Not to mention that his new wife was in control of the legislative body...
Scorpius stood.

"The Grand Imperium of Risban will accept the break-down of barriers to and only to members of INTERCON. However, should we have distasteful relations with such a member, we will not allow them free trade with us.
For this, we wish a compromise.
Just as there are nations who do not want the complete disintegration of trade barriers, there are those here who do not want an organization like OPEC being created in INTERCON. If we destroy trade barriers, we get our 'OPEC.' That is the compromise.
Through this INTERCON suborganization, we will hold monopolies on primarily fossiel fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal, and going along with what Ms. Kleinwald said, hold such power over atomic energy. Such an organization could make us extremely wealthy and powerful. I know Risban can supply oil and has several nuclear power plants... If we pull our sources together, just think how lucrative it would be to members of this conference.
And, if we gain control of things such as uranium and steel as well, as mentioned by the other honorable delegates... Just think of it.

We also agree that a military alliance is not our priority here. While we should be able to have a small force to protect our interests, we do not need another grand military alliance walking about."

Abigail said, "True, true. What we do need is an economic colossus. Dogpiles for the purpose of gunplay are so, shall I say, unnecessary, not when those dogpiles can can drive their enemies out of business. Even the most 'self-sufficent' of nations will eventually come to depend on us somehow. Of course, some military force is needed to guard our goals, but I think that voluntary coalition efforts are suffficent."

[OOC: I actually do have forums up, but I rather keep them out of this until all the nations can agree on a charter, which we should start to speak about soon. Furthermore, our membership is low ... even if all the present members of this conference join that's only around twelve members. The government alone is destiend to become around fourteen members large. So, that presents another problem.]

[OOC: I actually do have forums up, but I rather keep them out of this until all the nations can agree on a charter, which we should start to speak about soon. Furthermore, our membership is low ... even if all the present members of this conference join that's only around twelve members. The government alone is destiend to become around fourteen members large. So, that presents another problem.]

I can get probably 5 more people if you want.

I can get probably 5 more people if you want.

[OOC: That would be sweet!]

Andre Cirtus was tiring of these foreigners, as like all foreigners they were completely mad.

“I am very concerned about economically inaccurate statements made by several delegates,” said the Chancellor for Trade, as diplomatically as he could.
“The first is there are barriers and there are barriers. When one talks about reducing trade barriers, one means putting foreign and domestic firms on an equal footing in every nation, one does not mean legalising tobacco or selling weapons to terrorists.

Several nations have talked about the benefits of competition and then discussed us becoming a supra-national monopoly. Farmina for one will not strip private enterprises of their assets to form such a monopoly. I feel that such talk is directly opposed to the principles of laisse-faire. Furthermore I insist we cause great economic damage to our nations if we try to form this economic monopoly, as there are for more nations outside the monopoly than in. The industries you talk about monopolising will also gain little to no economies of scale from such a merger, so we will have practically no additional market power. I must urge that this idea be completely abandoned.

Complete free trade will drive competition not hamper it. Firms will be forced to compete with firms all over the world, forcing them to give consumers the very best deal. Furthermore, I wish to dispel the myth that some industries monopolise if you open up trade barriers. Each firms size is limited by the appropriate industries economy of scale. As by the Law of Comparative Advantage, all people will be better off. Free trade will not negatively impact economic growth. Each nation will gain by being able to achieve greater specialisation. A floating exchange rate will absorb any anomalies in international trade has on aggregate demand. Furthermore, markets in other nations, gained by multilateral liberalisation will far outweigh any lost domestically.

As for a university of capitalist ethics, I went to it, Farmina National University.

I feel that unless we truly follow the principles of a free market we are wasting our time.”

Jonach stammered to speak,"Completely agreeable, however, the ministries of Petroleum, Foodstuff and Steel would not only be used for monopolies, and in fact, it would be impossible unless every nation of the world traded through these ministries. However, they could regulate the price of these major exports, and thus create something along the lines of OPEC for each major export, which for right now remain at petroleum, steel and foodstuff. These are vital to the national well being to many sovereigns. Moreover, trading these three major goods will show unity inside the organization, and will gain profits for everyone inside INTERCON, not just the sellers - so, with that said, it's more of a show of unity, and of economic power. Of course, the micromanagement of all goods is impossible, which is why we should keep the subcategory ministries to vital goods."

“You say regulation of price,” said Andre Cirtus, “This is exactly what I am trying to prevent. The unregulated price is the very basis of sound capitalism. If were to regulate price, at the expense of good economics, it would require huge and expensive bureaucracies, and still probably be unachievable, because we would practically need monopoly power to do so.

To increase profits, we would need to increase price. To increase price we would have to cut production. Then the rest of the world would increase production to take advantage of the higher prices, forcing prices back down, leaving us with nothing but decreased production. I hope you enjoy your ‘profits’ because I will urge all Farminan companies not to join.

Never try to rip off the consumer in a competitive market, they will just do business next door.”

"Or, you can lower prices, and raise demand, which in turn forces your opponent to lower prices. Then, theoritically, demand would fall because your competitor gains buyers.

Whatever the case, free competition is not ALWAYS the best route. Sure, there are certain cases where the complete reduction of trade barriers would be the prime idea, but there are other cases where it simply not.

Moreover, the regulation of price, as explicitly said in one my rants before, would not be against nations inside the alliance, but instead trade with what would be termed 'foreign' markets, or markets outside the alliance. This incites people to join our sphere of economic freedom."

"Lowering prices in would mean there would be barely any meat left on the economic bones," bit back Cirtus, "Firms might as well not bother."

"Also it would be practically impossible to regulate prices outside the block, dare I say completely impossible. And with regard to free competition, it is always advantageous, unless an industry is a natural monopoly due to its inherent properties."

"How can you say such a thing? The surge in clients will make up for the loss when you lower prices, and give you an even better profit. Moreover, we are not seeking ot regulate prices OUTSIDE the bloc, but regulating our prices when it comes to exporting to countries outside the bloc."

"Cutting prices even further will mean firms will barely cover their costs. If they could increase profits by cutting prices don't you think they would have done so by now?" retorted Cirtus, "Even if we do cut prices other nations may cut their prices, bringing a fair number of customers back to them, meaning we have lost profit margin and gained only the fewest of customers."

"And again, I insist you won't be able to regulate anything. If we all agree on an export price, we may either cheat ourselves of a margin or we will be undercut by others. Either way, we shall be no better off than under free competition. To regulate in such a way, we shall need a monopoly."

Lauren R. Smith, Credonian Secretary of State and the selected representative of the Credonian government arrived at the conference fashionably late. She arrived at the room where the conference was being held. She took a step inside and looked around at all of the assembled representatives. There were faces that she wasnt too pleased to see seated at the table, however, she showed no signs of distaste, dislike, or disgust. She immediately took her seat, opened up her briefcase and took out a number of papers she had prepared for the conference in the days prior.

"Sorry for being so late, everyone. Seems I had somehow misplaced my briefcase on the plane. Could someone please fill me in on what is being discussed at this time, and perhaps I could contribute some Credoninan input."

Andre Cirtus looked over at Ms Smith, "Good lady, we have just been debating the limits of trade and regulation; personally I feel that government hands mangle the finer machinery. Certain people have even mentioned fixing the price of exports."

"Thank you Mr. Cirtus. If I may please interject my nation's stance. The Credonian government and its people agree with the concept of limited government involvement in free-market economies (hence the obvious meaning behind the name). Now, we also believe in competitive commerce, and by putting a cap or instituting a fixed export price, that stiffles international competition between companies, which in turn hurt the economies of those nations affected. That isnt very fair in a free-market and/or capitalist economy. Do you all not agree?"

"I completely agree," replied Andre, "In fact Ms Smith that was just what I was saying when you came in. I think you and I shall get on very well indeed."

Septimus smiled at the delegates discussions as well as watching the Credonian delegate carefully. After the conversation had drowned out he began to speak:

Whilst I will support any move to create an economic bloc after hearing the proposals put forward by the other honoured delegates. I would note that we will be willing to commit some of our natural resources to such a bloc, such as our copious crude oil reserves, synthetic oil, natural and synthetic diamonds as well as our metals, chemical and medical products.

However we will not share Guilder military technology, since that technology is for ourselves alone.

I must re-iterate the need to create a non-military counter to the rise of Communism/Socialism/Marxism, we are quite willing to fund it alone if needs be however.

As for direct and indirect trade barriers, we have few of them however we do have customs duties on some products and all shipments are required to submit to checks by the Imperial Customs and Immigration personnel, whom operate under the control of the Knights of Saint Peter.

Septimus ended what he was saying and forgeting himself held Sythix's hand, giving her a quick smile, which she returned.

President Harsimran sipped a bottle of water and then cleared his throat:

"If it is in our best interest to establish a free-economy, then we must stay to that idea. Regulating prices would hurt the economies instead of helping them. It would cause some of our customers to go to other blocs like OPEC. The consumer isn't fooled very often. Let the demand make the price because any regulations will cause a downturn in our economies. We should instead presue an active goal of selling our oil at a cheaper price than others. If we keep the prices cheaper than why would customers go and buy from OPEC? I estimate that we will make more than twice as much profit if we cut prices than if we were to regulate the prices and keep them high. Do you not agree?"

President Harsimran Mann sat down eager to hear the replies of the other delegates.

Dr. Praviel nodded as he listened to the speech of Space Union's delegate.

"I agree. The consumer demands lower prices, and if we rip them off with high prices, then we will lose lots of customers.

Who would want to pay $3.00 US Standard Dollars for a gallon of gasoline from us when they only have to pay $2.00 from OPEC?"

Praviel locked his eyes with the entire assembly before resuming his brief speech. He spoke the next phrase with sufficient loudness to focus all attention on his words, yet not so loud to be rude.

"Use common sense. To put it in the simplest terms, think as a customer, not as a corporate bigwig. Think corporate, we lose. Think customer, we win."

Praviel sat back down, taking another deep breath to soothe his nerves once again.

bump

Taking it all in Jonach tried to push his point againt,"Yes, I agree, the complete reduction of barriers would be prime between nations who have a mutual agreement. However, why would reduce all your barriers against nations who do not return the favor and still keep up a wall against your goods? It just doesn't make sense, which is why while those inside the bloc reduce trade barriers, we regulate barriers against those outside the bloc, or 'foreign' markets. It just makes sense.

Mr. Harsimran, that is what I am saying. While OPEC sells for say thirty-two dollars a barrel, or fifty-two dollars a barrel, or whatever it may be at the time, we can regulate, through the ministries, and a democratic vote, to reduce our prices to twenty-nine dollars a barrel. I doubt the client would flock to the hands of OPEC at that price, and I doubt OPEC would reduce prices beyond that, making us the cheaper resource, and to tell you the truth, we don't lose anything at all, instead we gain."

Taking it all in Jonach tried to push his point againt,"Yes, I agree, the complete reduction of barriers would be prime between nations who have a mutual agreement. However, why would reduce all your barriers against nations who do not return the favor and still keep up a wall against your goods? It just doesn't make sense, which is why while those inside the bloc reduce trade barriers, we regulate barriers against those outside the bloc, or 'foreign' markets. It just makes sense.

Mr. Harsimran, that is what I am saying. While OPEC sells for say thirty-two dollars a barrel, or fifty-two dollars a barrel, or whatever it may be at the time, we can regulate, through the ministries, and a democratic vote, to reduce our prices to twenty-nine dollars a barrel. I doubt the client would flock to the hands of OPEC at that price, and I doubt OPEC would reduce prices beyond that, making us the cheaper resource, and to tell you the truth, we don't lose anything at all, instead we gain."

Harsimran Mann:

Now I understand what you mean. We had a little misconception back there. So your saying we will not regulate prices inside the bloc but we will regulate outside the bloc. I do not see the problem there. Although, I do wish we actively presue the idea of keeping the lowest price.

President Harsimran sipped a bottle of water and then cleared his throat:

"If it is in our best interest to establish a free-economy, then we must stay to that idea. Regulating prices would hurt the economies instead of helping them. It would cause some of our customers to go to other blocs like OPEC. The consumer isn't fooled very often. Let the demand make the price because any regulations will cause a downturn in our economies. We should instead presue an active goal of selling our oil at a cheaper price than others. If we keep the prices cheaper than why would customers go and buy from OPEC? I estimate that we will make more than twice as much profit if we cut prices than if we were to regulate the prices and keep them high. Do you not agree?"

President Harsimran Mann sat down eager to hear the replies of the other delegates.

"I agree. Why buy from OPEC at all? The Umbrella Corporation has much cheaper prices for such products." Osswald stated, stirring a glass of wine.

Abigail was shocked. She said to the Farminan delegate:

"Look. I'm saying that if we don't dominate, somebody else, like the Reds, will. We can, nay must use the power of economic combination to control prices and rig the chips in the favor of the Free World. It may not have to come from government agencies, perhaps we can encourage those successful corporations in our forces with subsidies and tax breaks only to aid such a policy. I am still committed to the idea of contriuting economic resources to this endeavor."

"Also, as for a unified bank, we would have it issue perhaps a unified currency for our members. It would be like the Euro, or the US Dollar."

Chancellor Cirtus looked over at the representative from Virginian/RALM.
"My dear lady, I assure you that just as we cannot dominate markets niether can the reds. Furthermore I find it ironic that you think that if we could fix prices, and if it could act as a weapon you would use it. Firstly price fixing is a socialist idea, and you favour maintaining them by taxes and tariffs, more left wingism."

"Farmina will also be keeping its own currency as well, that way we can have an independent monetary policy and a more stable current account."

President Harsimran listened to Farmina's delegate and then spoke:

"I think a unified monetary system would be fine. We would all have our own currencies if we wish but still have one unified currency that we would sell our resources in. I think it should be called the FINTERCON Dollar."

The President then sat down to have a drink of champaign.

President Harsimran listened to Farmina's delegate and then spoke:

"I think a unified monetary system would be fine. We would all have our own currencies if we wish but still have one unified currency that we would sell our resources in. I think it should be called the FINTERCON Dollar."

The President then sat down to have a drink of champaign.
"I feel that there is little benefit in making a standardised currency, and like most things mentioned, side-steps the only true route of progress, trade liberalisation," responded Andre.

"I feel that there is little benefit in making a standardised currency, and like most things mentioned, side-steps the only true route of progress, trade liberalisation," responded Andre.

President Harsimran responded:

"How are we going to sell our resources? We can't possibly sell them in 10 different currencies and I don't think we will come to choosing which member's currency to use. Using multiple currencies would make selling resources much harder if we are to work as a bloc and not as individuals."

"How silly of me, making an eleventh currency, with no real value to support it, will make trade so much easier," responded Andre Cirtus.

"How silly of me, making an eleventh currency, with no real value to support it, will make trade so much easier," responded Andre Cirtus.

"The value will be the highest currency in the bloc. Or we can just adopt the currency that has the highest exchange rate."

Countered Harsimran

"All you are doing is adding an extra step into international transactions. This accomplishes nothin," responded the Chancellor.

"All you are doing is adding an extra step into international transactions. This accomplishes nothin," responded the Chancellor.

The Emperor laughed,"How foolish of us to think that trading through sets of completely different values, whether they be Farminan or Macabee, is much easier, and much more economically 'sane' than just having a single currency for the bloc. Especially, when it's been proven, through the European Union, that a single monetary unit for an economic organization is much stronger than ten different ones."

"All you are doing is adding an extra step into international transactions. This accomplishes nothin," responded the Chancellor.

No it cuts steps. Your idea would be same as saying that every state in the US had its own currency.

Responded Harsimran

RB would like to join.

-Rafaj Ogai, RB ambassador to The Macabees

RB would like to join.

-Rafaj Ogai, RB ambassador to The Macabees

Glad to see you have made it Roach-Buster. You can suggest ideas that you think that could help the FINTERCON bloc. Currently we are making ideas to put in our charter.

"The system refered to by the delegate from Virginia, was that every nation had their own currency, plus a supra national one. This is not what was seen in Europe," said Cirtus, "And may I remind you just how weak the individual economies were in Europe. Unifing currencies reduces the power of nations to have indepedent monetary policy, that is Farmina will no longer be able to have its own inflation targeting band."

"The system refered to by the delegate from Virginia, was that every nation had their own currency, plus a supra national one. This is not what was seen in Europe," said Cirtus, "And may I remind you just how weak the individual economies were in Europe. Unifing currencies reduces the power of nations to have indepedent monetary policy, that is Farmina will no longer be able to have its own inflation targeting band."

"You can use your currency for other matters but a unified currency will be only used for payments and aiding other nations as a whole bloc. When you work individually or donate to nations that you can pay in your own currency."

Replyed Harsimran

"You can use your currency for other matters but a unified currency will be only used for payments and aiding other nations as a whole bloc. When you work individually or donate to nations that you can pay in your own currency."

Replyed Harsimran

"Which would be far to complex," argued Cirtus, "A supra-national currency will either destroy independent policy or add another lay of difficulty for which I see no benefit."

Lauren listened in keeping her comments to herself until she had heard enough, then chimed in to give her opinion.

"People, lets be realistic here. While the theory and idea of having a unified currency may be nice and dandy, it presents too many problems. On top of that, its an idea that no one really seems to be in favor of. I believe the issue was also brought up about the stealing of a nations identity by using a unified currency. Currency is an individual nations defining characteristics and a show of economic strength, which is shown through the value of its currency. Now, I know for a fact that my nations would not support a unified currency, and the fact that you would allow the use of the nation's currency along with the unified currency would only do more harm than good. Credonia would not use the unified currency becuase it stands as an indicator of how powerful we are economically. It defines Credonia and its people and the hard work they do. To have a unified currency, even if it can be used in addition to our national currency, robs us of our identiy, our sense of pride, and its something that we dont want to happen. In addition to that, if by chance the unified currency became more valuable than our currency, we would be in constant competition with it, something that wouldnt necessarily be too good for us. So I must vehemently oppose the idea of the introduction of a unified currency. It would be just plain wrong to create one, and it would be very ineffective and counter-productive, economically to our goals as a group of nations."

Septimus didn't like some of the proposals coming down from the other delegates he made his position clear with a matter of fact statement:

Ladies and Gentlemen, we will not change our currency nor will many other of the great nations suggusted. We suggust you get off such an idea, since it will not happen and monetary union is not desirable especially for the larger powers represented in this room.

"Perhaps that is one thing Guilders and Tocrowkians can agree on." Richard spoke up. "Tocrowkia will never adopt an international currency. Our currency is named after our founder, and our liberator. It is in his honor."

"Why do I get the odd feeling that absolutely nothing has been agreed upon, apart from a bank, a university and a love of cheap oil," muttered under his breath Chancellor Cirtus.

Dr. Praviel was seething inwardly, a somewhat rare occurrence for a man of logic and analysis. He kept listening to the various delegates squabble about small things, and now about currencies.

Paper currencies are obsolete in Sharina. Why cannot these nations see that paper currencies are a thing of the past?

Pravie began speaking in a cold voice, filled with traces of annoyance.

"Paper currencies are an archaic thing that will only lead to economic ruin.

Nations that are strong economically are at an advantage, obviously, with their paper currency at a high value. Should something negative happen to that nation's economy, the value of that nation's currency will degrade. Consquently, every nation that views and measures their currency aganist the strong nation's currency would suffer as well. Chaos would ensue.

If we adopt an unified currency, then the impact of depressions and economic downturns would be less severe, as it would be spread out throughout the bloc, as opposed to one nation suffering and then all others following suit in a domino effect.

I am annoyed that some of you would prefer pride and 'It is my own!' as opposed to achieving real progress.

Sharina gave up paper currency 100 years ago, and our economy has benefitted enormously from it. Sharina's economy is capable of operation and functioning several 'levels' higher than most capitalist economies due to the Technocracy type of currency system."

Dr. Praviel sat back down, trying to suppress his annoyance.

Richard turned to the man.

"Have you done any research on our nation? an Assairugrad is not a 'paper' currency. It is infact a copper or steel coin upon which is smelted the Seal of Assair."

Dr. Praviel was seething inwardly, a somewhat rare occurrence for a man of logic and analysis. He kept listening to the various delegates squabble about small things, and now about currencies.

Paper currencies are obsolete in Sharina. Why cannot these nations see that paper currencies are a thing of the past?

Pravie began speaking in a cold voice, filled with traces of annoyance.

"Paper currencies are an archaic thing that will only lead to economic ruin.

Nations that are strong economically are at an advantage, obviously, with their paper currency at a high value. Should something negative happen to that nation's economy, the value of that nation's currency will degrade. Consquently, every nation that views and measures their currency aganist the strong nation's currency would suffer as well. Chaos would ensue.

If we adopt an unified currency, then the impact of depressions and economic downturns would be less severe, as it would be spread out throughout the bloc, as opposed to one nation suffering and then all others following suit in a domino effect.

I am annoyed that some of you would prefer pride and 'It is my own!' as opposed to achieving real progress.

Sharina gave up paper currency 100 years ago, and our economy has benefitted enormously from it. Sharina's economy is capable of operation and functioning several 'levels' higher than most capitalist economies due to the Technocracy type of currency system."

Dr. Praviel sat back down, trying to suppress his annoyance.

“My dear you have your economics quite back to front” said Andre Cirtus, “A unified currency, will strengthen the currency as a whole, but each individual nation will be thrown into harsher economic waters internally. Monetary policy, I refer to government manipulation of interest rates, is the most effective tool used to control economic fluctuations. If we share a currency, then that currency has the same price; that is the same interest rate level everywhere. Hence each government will be giving up its influence on monetary policy and will be unable to flex into individual circumstances. This was the problem seen in Europe when some nations needed higher interest rates to control inflation, while others needed lower interest rates to control unemployment. If each nation could deal with its own problems this would never have got out of hand, but instead the tool could not be used in fear of worsening some nation’s economies in favour of others. Farmina will not suffer the loss of flexible, independent, monetary policy; the Haren will stay at all costs.”

Richard turned to the man.

"Have you done any research on our nation? an Assairugrad is not a 'paper' currency. It is infact a copper or steel coin upon which is smelted the Seal of Assair."

Dr. Praviel listened to Richard and Andre Cirtus brief dialogue, nodding and shaking his head at several points. Once the two finished their turns, Praviel raised a hand to signify that he was preparing to respond to the questions of the two delegates.

"I apologize, I should have clarified my position better.

What Sharina considers as paper currency is essentially any currency that you can print, stamp, emboss, and any physical currency. This includes actual paper-printed currency, metallic coins, or physical values such as the price standard of gold bullion or platinum.

The currency Sharina uses is not physical, but energy. The Diamond is Sharina's measurement of its energy credit system, similiar to your system of watts and joules. People in Sharina purchase and sell material or objects according to a simple energy formula that is used to determine the value.

The value is determined by X, Y, and Z values. X is the amount of energy required to produce the object itself. Y is the measure of the demand of the item. Z value denotes the amount of that material being manufactured, or in other words, supply.

Now, I shall present an example.

A wood chair's X value would be measured by the average work put into it. The energy an factory uses to saw, hammer, glue, and assemble the chair, according to Newton's law of physics and Electrical Energy. Thus, we gain our X value. Assume that an average factory machine would require approximately 1 megawatt (MW) to undertake all these operations.

Now the demand for chairs is high, as everybody wants chairs in their homes to sit in. Sharina measures the demand for material, goods, products, etc. in a scale of 1 to 100. Using this scale, the demand for the chairs would be 80-D, and D denotes Demand.

Sharina produces 100 million wooden chairs annually, so the Z value would be 100M-S, which M denotes Million, and S denotes Supply.

Now we have our X and Y values. X = 1 MW and Y = 80-D and Z = 100M-S. The Sharina E-Bank calculates the final price of a single chair according to these values. The Y value, or demand value, is updated on a monthly basis, to more accurately reflect current demand nationwide. The Z value is calculated in similiarly to the Y value calculations. The X value is constant, never-changing, unless more efficient machinery is developed that does more work for less energy.

I am not at a liberty to discuss the formula to generate the actual price of the chair, or any product, due to security reasons.

As you can see, this system relies on universal laws, instead of man-made ones, providing unparalleled stability. Basing a currency on energy - demand is far more stable. The problem with physical currency, like paper, metals, etc. is that the prices for these would fluctate, whereas the energy currency that Sharina employs suffers far less fluctations.

Simply put, the energy used to produce things, or X value, is constant, and not reliant on global issues and events in the way that physical currencies are. Supply-Demand is the only variable thing in Sharina's currency, but it accurately reflects Sharina's needs and not-needs, allowing for far more flexibility in manufacturing. If objects reach Demand values of 1 - 10, then most of the factories producing these objects will be converted to produce other objects of demand 11+. Likewise, if factories supply too much of a particular material, or in other words, an excess of Z value, then some factories are converted to produce other goods.

Hopefully this gives you new insight into Sharina's currency system, and why I consider paper / physical currencies obsolete."

Dr. Praviel leaned backwards in his chair, taking a good sized gulp of water, for his throat was nearly raw from speaking for so long. Praviel looked at the Farmina and Tocrowkia delegates, awaiting their responses.

"That has absolutely nothing to do with my concerns about monetary policy independence that would be lost under a common currency," said Andre Cirtus, "And did you just say a central bank determines prices?"

"That has absolutely nothing to do with my concerns about monetary policy independence that would be lost under a common currency," said Andre Cirtus, "And did you just say a central bank determines prices?"

Dr. Praviel nodded.

"I was mainly addressing the Tocrowkia delegate's question regarding 'Paper currency'.

In response to your question regarding monetary policy independence, all of our economies would benefit immensely if they were to follow Sharina's economic model. However, I do not forsee many nations willing to make the drastic overhauls necessary to completely restructure their currency system.

Measuring currency in the amount of energy, supply, and demand that an economy generates would reinforce it far more than using physical currencies that can swing unpredictably. Suppose you base your physical currency aganist the value of a single bar of gold. Later on, a massive new gold deposit is found, and in turn, the price of gold is lowered considerably.

In an Energy-Credit based economy, those swings will not occur. Swings will only occur in supply and demand, which would be an excellent gauge of what Sharina needs and doesn't need. This would eliminate excesses or lack of goods.

Should more nations employ this system, more economic stability shall occur throughout the world, and the risks of dangerous swings will be reduced by a good amount."

Dr. Praviel drank some more water, almost draining his bottle, before continuing.

"Now, to address your question of Central Bank.

We employ an E-Bank, or in other terms, Electronic Bank, that employs the supply-demand-energy formula to determine the actual Diamond prices of goods and material.

What is revolutionary about Sharina's E-Bank is that it operates electronically, instead of storing money and such in vaults. This eliminates bank robberies, as there isn't 'money-in-vault' that is prevalent in traditional capitalist nations.

Instead, whenever someone desires to withdraw Energy-Diamonds, the person has to go to an office of the E-Bank. In the office, the person submits DNA, visual, retina, and sound identification. This is to prevent hackers from siphoning off money, and to prevent any forceful withdrawal of money. All four identification are cross-referenced, so that thieves cannot get away with faking DNA, because then visual identification would prove that the thief is not the person making withdrawal. If the thief has a life-like mask, then voice and retina identification would un-mask the thief.

Bank robberies and bank fraud are a thing of the past in Sharina."

Dr. Praviel nodded at the Farmina delegate as he finished his speech.

"We back our currency with real GDP which eliminates and radical swings. Monetary policy in Farmina is based on anchor targets to ensure this in the short term," said Andre Cirtus, "Also your formulas can't completely remove swings as supply and demand shifts change fundementally. And as for bank robberies, to think that a system is fool proof amounts to foolishness. Also doesn't it strike you as a waste of good resources to work all these prices out when a free market would do this by itself."

"We back our currency with real GDP which eliminates and radical swings. Monetary policy in Farmina is based on anchor targets to ensure this in the short term," said Andre Cirtus, "Also your formulas can't completely remove swings as supply and demand shifts change fundementally. And as for bank robberies, to think that a system is fool proof amounts to foolishness. Also doesn't it strike you as a waste of good resources to work all these prices out when a free market would do this by itself."

Dr. Praviel responded quickly.

"GDP based on what?

In addition, I have never claimed that Sharina has eliminated swings from supply-demand. Damage from physical resource currency swings will be minimzed greatly, and swings in supply-demand will present their own solutions. Adjust supply-demand by converting factories or lowering the Demand Scale Rating of the good or material in question. Once this is done, the supply-demand swings will resolve itself.

A free market may not be able to work out prices out, should the resources run out, or suddenly become as plentiful as water. The damage to a free market would be considerable, but in Sharina's system, the damage would be controlled, sort like damage-control in a naval warship."

The Emperor rubbed his head, growing annoyed with the meeting. He did not even bother to stand as he spoke.

"We are getting off topic here. I believe that, instead of arguing over how one's country defines its finances. I say that we just put a unified currency to a vote and then move on to other major conerns of INTERCON. We are spending too much time bickering instead of actually getting things done. All we have established thus far is that we'd all like to make some money through INTERCON and that all of our nations have very different views on how INTERCON should function. It is time to start compromising."

"Simply put, Credonia cannot and will not adopt a unified or international, currency. National pride and individuality is something that defines Credonia and every other nation that is fully independent functioning from the rest of the nations on earth. It is imperative to the people that they take pride in their nation, their economy, and their hard work"

"Simply put, Credonia cannot and will not adopt a unified or international, currency. National pride and individuality is something that defines Credonia and every other nation that is fully independent functioning from the rest of the nations on earth. It is imperative to the people that they take pride in their nation, their economy, and their hard work"

Dr. Praviel shook his head.

"I only have this to say, as this ancient adage sums up the problems of pride perfectly.

Pride goeth before a fall."

"And I have this to say in response, unification does not spur progress like individuality and competition does. It makes the world dull, uncompetitive, and boring. If given a choice, we, as in the Credonian people would choose individuality over dull, uncompetitive and boring anyday."

"And I have this to say in response, unification does not spur progress like individuality and competition does. It makes the world dull, uncompetitive, and boring. If given a choice, we, as in the Credonian people would choose individuality over dull, uncompetitive and boring anyday."

Dr. Praviel nodded.

"Excellent point.

However, there are instances where unity is paramount. Another ancient adage comes to mind.

'United we stand, divided we fall.'

It is true that individuality is a considerable trait to have, but unity is necessary as well to survive."

President Harsimran spoke:

"Very well, after hearing all the arguments lets put this to vote like other delegates have said. Either say yes or no."

OOC: Write yes or no in your post.

Unified Currency Vote:

Yes

OOC: Lets do this when we get any new ideas. We discuss it and then once everyone has said something then we will vote on it.

Richard looked around for a moment, and noticed the Moronyicka delegate.

"Sorry to get off topic here, but I must point out it is amusing that the almighty King Jedo did not show up becaue his "nation", if you could even call that mudhole that, is not on terms with our Reich. Amusing indeed."

He stated.

OOC: Actually, it was RALM, not you, but anyway.

*Thinks about writing an IC post. Decides he doesn't want to wade through 6 pages. Leaves topic.*

Dr. Praviel nodded.

"Excellent point.

However, there are instances where unity is paramount. Another ancient adage comes to mind.

'United we stand, divided we fall.'

It is true that individuality is a considerable trait to have, but unity is necessary as well to survive."


Lauren sits up in her seat and takes a sip of her water before clearing her throat to speak.

"A unified currency will not stop a nation or group of nations from "falling". Sure it could possibly prevent the failure of a nations weak economy, if they had one, it will not make or break us. Aside from that, just because we do not have a unified currency, that does not mean that we are divided. There are many other things that we as a unified body of nations can do, economically, to bring about more positive growth and results than an international/unified currency. Credonia votes NO on the unified currency issue.."

bump

OOC: I have posted a new vehicle called J-4 "Juggernaught". It is for sale and any members of FINTERCON get a 50% discount.

"Farmina will not lose control of a policy tool," said Cirtus, "I vote NO."

"As do I." Said Richard.

Dr. Praviel listened to the Credonia delegate, Lauren, and kept an impassive face. He did not want the delegates to know his inner emotions and struggle, as Lauren had struck several good points. When the vote started up, and it came his turn to vote, Praviel spoke just two words.

"I abstain."

Upon the utterance of his vote, Praviel sat back in his chair, and collected his thoughts. He began marshalling his energies for the next round of discussion.

We refuse to accept any new currency in the Imperial Guilder Empire. Thus we must vote: No

Said Septimus with an intonation of regret in his voice.

Emperor Scorpius rubbed his head.

"The Risban Imperium will not change its national currency. Thus, I vote No."

OOC:If two more people vote no then the issue is dead and the conference will move on.

Julian Falkenberg rose, took a breath, and cast his vote.

"The Empire of Malkyer will not subscribe to a supra-national currency. We vote no."

"The Republic of Everonia casts a Nay for the vote."

[OOC: A lot to read.]

Jonach took his hand off his face and raised his voice again,"Then there will not be a unified currency.

However, we must press on the matter of the actual trade organization! Give ideas, shun ideas."

"We must all affirm in principle support for the objectives of economic liberalisation, we must all affirm opposition to the leftist threat and we must all affirm our intention of breaking down trade barriers," said Chancellor Cirtus.