31-10-2003, 02:54
This issue was sent in a few weeks ago, and will probably be accepted (or, more likely, rejected) in a year or two ;-). It basically deals with a revolution (given only to those nations with very low civil rights, economy, or political freedoms), and political advisors trying to use it to their advantage.
I do not recall the exact wording of the issue (even the thread title is suspect), but here is what I remember:
First option would have you tune down Big Brother, lowering L&O expenditures and increasing civil rights.
Second option would have you spend money to re-energize the economy, increasing Commerce and Social Welfare expenditures and increasing economy.
Third option would have you hold free elections (if you already have some, more free elections), decreasing voter apathy and increasing political freedoms.
Fourth option would have you send in the troops to crush the rebellion. This increases L&O and Defense spending while decreasing civil rights.
Dismissal is allowed of course, and is the unstated fifth option (do nothing at all).
When I wrote this, I did realize that a country who had a low economy but high civil rights and political freedoms could receive this issue, and go for more civil rights or political freedoms instead of giving the economy a boost. I eventually decided that this made some sense--politicians, I have observed, sometimes make the entirely wrong decision to solve a problem. This could be due to misguided beliefs (that the unhappiness is due to a lack of something they already have a lot of), by conscious refusal (for all you capitalist-hating nations out there ;-)), or by other factors.
Another thing is that the fourth option virtually guarantees the issue will return, especially if the low attribute is Civil Rights. This is again intentional, because while they may be gaining a respite from the problem, they have not solved it. Another rebellion is quite likely to spring up.
This issue is by no means supposed to represent all possible reasons for revolt, and it is not perfect either. But a revolt of the people is caused by some form of dissatisfaction that affects many. Some people hate constantly being told what to do by their government, and will revolt to gain civil rights. Some people want to have the right to choose their ruler, and will fight for those freedoms as well. And if there are too many poor people on the streets (due to bad economy), they will get angry at the government for not giving them jobs. This possibility exists at every level, but the lower they are to begin with, the more likely there will be such a revolt.
Comments?
I do not recall the exact wording of the issue (even the thread title is suspect), but here is what I remember:
First option would have you tune down Big Brother, lowering L&O expenditures and increasing civil rights.
Second option would have you spend money to re-energize the economy, increasing Commerce and Social Welfare expenditures and increasing economy.
Third option would have you hold free elections (if you already have some, more free elections), decreasing voter apathy and increasing political freedoms.
Fourth option would have you send in the troops to crush the rebellion. This increases L&O and Defense spending while decreasing civil rights.
Dismissal is allowed of course, and is the unstated fifth option (do nothing at all).
When I wrote this, I did realize that a country who had a low economy but high civil rights and political freedoms could receive this issue, and go for more civil rights or political freedoms instead of giving the economy a boost. I eventually decided that this made some sense--politicians, I have observed, sometimes make the entirely wrong decision to solve a problem. This could be due to misguided beliefs (that the unhappiness is due to a lack of something they already have a lot of), by conscious refusal (for all you capitalist-hating nations out there ;-)), or by other factors.
Another thing is that the fourth option virtually guarantees the issue will return, especially if the low attribute is Civil Rights. This is again intentional, because while they may be gaining a respite from the problem, they have not solved it. Another rebellion is quite likely to spring up.
This issue is by no means supposed to represent all possible reasons for revolt, and it is not perfect either. But a revolt of the people is caused by some form of dissatisfaction that affects many. Some people hate constantly being told what to do by their government, and will revolt to gain civil rights. Some people want to have the right to choose their ruler, and will fight for those freedoms as well. And if there are too many poor people on the streets (due to bad economy), they will get angry at the government for not giving them jobs. This possibility exists at every level, but the lower they are to begin with, the more likely there will be such a revolt.
Comments?