NationStates

Not every socialist nation in NS has good intentions for its people. So here's an issue for those corrupt nations that adopted socialism in order to have more control over their populations. I don't have a good title yet, but here's a first draft:

Current Draft

Title: (No title yet)
Validity: Must have socialism, high corruption, and high wealth gaps

The issue: Your staffers surprised you this morning when they gave you a daily schedule that included a meeting that you’re pretty sure you never arranged. Before you could ask any questions, you’d been rushed into a shady conference room and are now sitting across the table from a lawyerly figure in a nice suit.

Option 1
The suited figure takes a puff of a cigar and smiles as @@HE@@ greets you. “Well hello, @@LEADER@@! It’s good to finally meet ya. I represent a group of multinational corporations based in the United Federation that are looking to expand into @@NAME@@. Let me tell ya, it took a lot of well-placed gifts to arrange this meeting. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Everyone loves to line their own pockets. That’s why you’ve got such a tight grip on the economy of @@NAME@@, right? See, you and I are a lot alike. We both know how to get wealth into the right people’s hands. I’m here to offer you a deal that’ll net plenty of @@CURRENCY@@ for both of us. You just open up that economy so that my friends can move their business here, and we’ll make sure you see a hefty cut of the profits. You'll start to see the virtues of a market economy very quickly. Besides, you wouldn’t want your political dissidents to see a mysterious influx of foreign funding, would you? Think about it.” @@HE@@ stands up, slides you a business card, and leaves the room before you can get a word in.
Effect: ruthless corporate overlords aren’t much different from ruthless government overlords
Removes policy: Socialism
Instates policy: Capitalism

Option 2
Your brother, who is also the Director of Economic Planning, steps out of a dark corner and into your field of view. “Really now,” he muses, “You can’t possibly be considering giving up control of the economy to a bunch of greedy foreigners. Things are quite good for us as they are now. We need to keep a tight leash on the economy, and keep thoughts of liberalization far away. Don’t let any more foreign capitalists find their way in here, and clamp down on anyone who even suggests allowing private enterprise.”
Effect: the government’s motto is “from each according to his ability, to each according to his power”

Option 3
As you leave the conference room, your sister, who was apparently listening in from the other side of the door, steps in front of you and blocks your path. “Hang on a second,” she insists, “Don’t you think this is a wake-up call? There’s too much wealth concentrated in too few hands! One economy motivated by greed is no better than another! We need to be true to our socialist principles and actually build an economy that works for everyone. No more shady backdoor deals, and no more bourgeois decadence while people starve.”
Effect: government officials can no longer afford solid gold televisions

Option 4
As you finally make it to your office and sit down at your desk, your most trusted aide taps your shoulder. As you look up at @@HIM@@, @@HE@@ says, “Enjoy your meeting? Hopefully you’ve seen what happens when the people who set your schedule feel the need to take bribes. Make me your Chief of Staff and give your hard-working assistants a nice pay-raise for their efforts, and I promise you’ll never have to deal with a surprise visitor again.”
Effect: it is said that getting a meeting with @@LEADER@@ requires sacrificing one’s first-born child

the title should be 'let it go'

Drew Durrnil wrote:the title should be 'let it go'

Why so?

Sensorland wrote:

Drew Durrnil wrote:the title should be 'let it go'

Why so?

you're letting the economy go

I think you have the seeds of a good issue. There is certainly a gap in the issues base for an issue that deals with high-corruption socialist countries. However, I think you're going about this the wrong way. You should be looking at corruption of party officials rather than someone encouraging @@LEADER@@ to be corrupt.

Electrum wrote:I think you have the seeds of a good issue. There is certainly a gap in the issues base for an issue that deals with high-corruption socialist countries. However, I think you're going about this the wrong way. You should be looking at corruption of party officials rather than someone encouraging @@LEADER@@ to be corrupt.

Hmm. You're probably right that Party officials should be more involved here. That said, I do think having @@LEADER@@ being corrupt is a pretty good basis for this issue, particularly in that I want to give the corrupt socialist nations a chance to defect to an explicitly corrupt capitalism, with @@LEADER@@ being assured that it will benefit them the most (I recall an issue that allows a transition from capitalism to socialism under much the same premise: socialism will give you, the leader, more control over the economy). Hence why I included high wealth gaps as a validity requirement. It's not enough that the nation be corrupt politically, it also has to be clear that the country's leadership doesn't actually care about economic equality.

Please make your intentions for option 3 clearer