Something that some might deem benign or even ridiculous, but that I believe could potentially spawn a great debate about the universe of video games, the core personality of the character of Wario and even challenge the very nature of politics.
This question that has haunted me for so long, NSG, is very simple:
Is Wario a libertarian?
I will attempt, in this OP, to summarize what I have gathered from my thoughts and from the opinions of other people.
Let us first remember the driving force of the character, the very core of Wario's personality - greed.
Almost his entire personality is centered around greed. Wario is an extremely greedy character with a particular love for money.
Now, I'm not saying that this makes Wario a libertarian. In fact, who doesn't like money? A lot of people are greedy with no political intentions.
However, I have grown convinced that there is more to Wario's persona that indicates that Wario's greed could be linked to a conscious mechanism of staunch belief in libertarianism.
One interesting detail to note concerns Wario's common catchphrase heard most frequently in the Mario Party or Mario Kart games.
"Gahahaha, Imma gonna win!"
This catchphrase has almost been elevated to the status of a motto, over the years, by Nintendo. This catchphrase is the defining point of Wario's ideology and lifestyle. Wario sets clear standards for winning - implying he also sets clear standards for losing. And these standards are based on wealth, the logical end of greed.
A free-market economy, by essence, contains winners and losers. Those who are protective of their money often end up being winners in such a system. Thus, Wario acknowledges that he wins in a free-market system. Something that perfectly aligns with his possible libertarian views.
But what truly motivated me to make this thread, what the final step towards believing that Wario's alignment with libertarianism couldn't be a coincidence, is something I thought of by pure chance.
You are most likely aware that Wario is Mario's arch-rival. These two characters are precisely thought out and consciously created to be opposites. Mario is the hero, Wario is the anti-hero. The "W" letter, another defining characteristic on Wario, seen on his cap and his gloves, is the opposite of Mario's "M", etc.
I now want you to take note of Mario and Wario's clothes.
The color of communism.
Another detail that must not be neglected is Mario's moustache, clearly modeled on Joseph Stalin's.
In opposition to this, Wario's shirt and cap are yellow. A color, as you all probably know, traditionally associated with economic libertarianism or anarcho-capitalism.
And at that, I have not yet delved into the "anarcho-" part of the ideology of anarcho-capitalism.
It is no secret to anyone that Wario takes part in criminal behaviors. This is mostly seen in the WarioWare series, where he has a habit of not paying his employees for the games they make for him (those who have played the games will know what I'm referring to). Wario has also sometimes been represented as a thief.
A simple free-market economic system would not tolerate this criminal behavior, but an anarchy would. As such, it is perfectly conceivable that Wario is an anarcho-capitalist.
What political ideology is opposed to taxes? ...That's right. Libertarianism.
The proof is overwhelming, NSG. Everything points out that Wario is most likely a libertarian. However, to deter skeptics, we need to gather even more information on this discovery.
And that's where you come into play.
You and me, as a team, we need to find more proof of Wario being a libertarian. This is possibly the greatest Nintendo theory of all time and I will dedicate an important amount of my time to proving it right. Nintendo didn't drop these clues by chance. I firmly believe this has to be a conscious mechanism aimed towards us, the players.
What do you think, NSG? Is Wario a libertarian? If you don't think he is, why not? If he indeed is, then what are other clues that point towards it?
