[DISCARDED] Shades of Red

[Old Northwest]

Validity: All socialist nations, allows smoking
Title: Shades of Red
The issue: While walking through @@CAPITAL@@, you noticed the plurality of political posters and thought it might be best to decide, once and for all, which of the many styles of socialism to adopt for @@NATION@@. After scrolling through thousands of Maxipedia articles on Barryist-Violetist State Socialism and Socialism with @@DEMONYMADJECTIVE@@ and Antidisestablishmentarian Characteristics, top ideological figures have congregated in your office to tell you why they're right.

Option 1: "Bah," scoffs an unnamed man with a large handlebar mustache, rubbing it menacingly. "Discipline is what we need. For a truly collectivist society, we must sacrifice ourselves for the greater good, guided by the greatness and grace of you, @@LEADER@@! I'm sure everyone would agree with that." After finishing his sentence he checks to make sure he is not being listened to. "Of course there will be some that disagree, but we have the labor camps for a reason, right?" You blink and the man is gone.
Outcome: @@LEADER@@ is the glorious leader of socialism and those that disagree disappear.

Option 2: As you wait for the next ideologue, you start to smell intense cigarette smoke. "Hey there, @@LEADER@@," says a deep and dark voice from the other side of the door. "@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ need to realize one thing, and one thing only: their ego, man." After five minutes of the man awkardly trying to open the door, he walks in and continues his sensual speech. "Um, like, anyways, I think that individualism should be number one, I guess? Everyone should be able to do, like, what they want, when they want. That's socialism, dude. No, like, government in the way, just people's power, bro." He leaves and then realizes he left his trilby in your office.
Outcome: @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ are too cool for school.

Option 3: While your aids clear the remaining smoke cloud from your office, the door is kicked down as famed socialist revolutionary Carly Marks enters, with a full chorus of red flags and angry mobs behind her. "Hello, @@LEADER@@! It must be clear the path that we must follow. Socialism must be for and from the proletarian masses! Scientific socialism and historical materialism will reign supreme with the proletariat's rule!" After staring wide-eyed for about thirty seconds, she slouches in disappointment and translates. "Socialism must use scientific analysis to give power to the people. Wasn't that obvious?"
Outcome: bedtime stories are denounced as "idealist."

Option 4: After the door has finally been replaced, it is knocked down again by a stammeringly mad old man with a top hat longer than the door is tall. "Excuse me, sir! Pempulus Pumperbottom here, and I have a LOT to say about what is going on." He pulls out a pipe as your aids sigh and prepare to both re-fix the door and remove a second layer of smoke. Muffled from the pipe, he continues. "I held shares in many companies before this so-called 'socialism' ruined my businesses affairs. There I was, sitting in my factory on a pile of money, and some peasant boy comes to me and says that YOU now own the property! How preposterous. I say, sir, return my factory and bring back decent work for once!" He grumbles as he leaves.
Outcome: the bourgeoisie has seized the means of production.

First issue draft I've ever created! Let me know what you think.

[Old Northwest]

I thought about adding sections for things such as "religious socialism" where some monk or something takes about oneness with the self and community and possibly one for vanguardism.

Edit: also maybe one for some sort of left-wing nationalism like Castro?

[Old Northwest]

Bump I guess.

[Window Land]

The way you have it written you need to add the validity allows smoking.

[Old Northwest]

The way you have it written you need to add the validity allows smoking.

Would you say that there should be two choices for the smoking one or should I just eliminate the smoking entirely?

[Window Land]

Would you say that there should be two choices for the smoking one or should I just eliminate the smoking entirely?

I would recommend since 3 of your options have or reference smoking you either cut it entirely or add the validity to the issue.

[Sacara]

This seems kind of unrealistic that name hasn’t already chosen a form of government, and I’m sure a walk down the street wouldn’t really spur that imo.

[Old Northwest]

This seems kind of unrealistic that name hasn’t already chosen a form of government, and I’m sure a walk down the street wouldn’t really spur that imo.

I guess I saw it as a quick way to differentiate socialist nations, I always felt like the issues saw socialism as the same thing I guess? I also thought it could be a great satire of the 3,000 socialist ideologies. Do you think this could be done better, or doesn't need to be done at all?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

"What style of socialism do you want?" is a very valid question, but I'd agree that the story doesn't lead into this in a very believable fashion. While we tend to handwave away the bloody revolutions that tend to typify a switch into socialism, you'd certainly expect that if a communist nation has a working government that has been deciding on issues, then the questions being asked here have already been answered off-stage.

My own issue on "how do you want to do your communism?" was #577 Second World Problems, which focused on how to spread socialism internationally. The reason I went for that direction was that it allowed me to give a choice between different ideological approaches while not assuming that the nation's communism was itself in the formative stages.

What I'd suggest instead is focusing on a specific area of ideology to raise questions about, and then to construct a scenario around that. For example, you could ask if in Communism the LEADER and the party elite should have a higher quality of life and wealth than the majority.

[Old Northwest]

What I'd suggest instead is focusing on a specific area of ideology to raise questions about, and then to construct a scenario around that. For example, you could ask if in Communism the LEADER and the party elite should have a higher quality of life and wealth than the majority.

I like that, a lot. I'm going to make a second draft.

[Australian rePublic]

Wouldn't you have known this from the beginning, I mean it's not the government's "We're in power", now what?

[Old Northwest]

Wouldn't you have known this from the beginning, I mean it's not the government's "We're in power", now what?

I am going to be creating a new draft when I have time, and I'm going to hone in on a more specific issue. I mostly made this because I felt like there weren't any socialist issues that accurately covered the many different socialist perspectives. Instead I am going to create an issue on a specific topic under socialism, likely something about the role of religion or political parties.