Game of Lives

[skaa he/him]

(I was going to put this in Creator's Corner as a world-building exercise, but then I thought maybe other people might be interested in it as well.)

(Boring preamble)

From Feudalism to Marxism, from Authoritarianism to Libertarianism, philosophers and rulers throughout history have been inventing, promoting, and implementing different ideas on how people should live and how society should function. Some of these experiments on people's lives have led to widespread misery and suffering, but some have also been beneficial in one way or another. In the end, man is a social animal, and social interactions will always lead to social contracts. For better or for worse, socio-political systems will always be here with us.

Some people, myself included, actually enjoy thinking about different kinds of societies. I think it's fun to fantasize about Utopia, the "ideal" society. Sometimes, it's also fun to think of Dystopia or, really, any unique and interesting theoretical society we can think about. Which is probably why many fantasy authors from More to Sanderson invent new and strange forms of society as part of their world-building (e.g. the various forms of society in the Stormlight Archives). Whether they use it for social commentary (as Orwell does) or just as a backdrop for their story (as Martin does), authors that create fictional societies all perform the following steps:

1. Invent rules for a fictional society.
2. Show the possible consequences of these rules.

Conway's Game of Life, where there are four pre-defined rules for a "society" of cells on an infinite grid, can be seen as a sort of simplified form of this. Or perhaps we could say that socio-political theory is just a complex and chaotic Game of Life with more dynamic rules.

So, why don't we play the game?

The point of this game is to come up with your own theoretical form of society, whether a Utopian one (i.e. how society would work if you had your way) or otherwise. You then speculate on what that society might be like. The system of rules followed by the society can be as simple or as complex as you wish. Try to be original, though it's okay if you just want to share an existing social theory that you really like. You can also indicate if you want others to critique your theory or not.

I will be linking entries that I like here in the OP.

 

---

 

Serious entries:

• Skaa's Imperial Communist Aristocratic Society (Expanded here, here, and here)
• Venture Mistborn's Selective Society (Expanded here)
• Gargoyle's Responsible Society (Expanded here)

Edited August 30, 2015 by skaa

[skaa he/him]

This theoretical society I'm about to present has the following general requirements:

1. All official leadership, administrative, investigative, or enforcive positions, whether in the government or in industry, are to be without pay.
    
2. There would be a self-organized moneyless communist subset of society, composed of people who wish to live a life of leadership, sacrifice, and service. Due to Requirement #1, everyone serving in the official capacity of president, governor, mayor, congressman, judge, lawyer, police officer, company officer, manager, auditor, or any similar role is expected to join a local communist unit.
    
3. There is to be no taxation. Everything needed by the government that the communists cannot produce themselves will be commissioned to private commercial companies, who may then choose to use legal crowdfunding avenues, or work on the government project gratis. Companies could also reject a government project proposal without fear of legal reprisal.
    
4. There are to be no patents, and trade secrets will not be protected outside of the regular laws against theft of material goods. The concept of "intellectual property theft" would not be recognized. Companies are expected to compete fairly with each other and allow the spreading of innovative ideas. There would be anti-trust laws to prosecute anyone attempting to stifle competition.
    
5. The military, the banks and all financial and real estate institutions, and all cultural, entertainment, sports, and media organizations will be conglomerated into a single entity referred to as an Empire. Imperial members are to be given military training either as part-time soldiers or as reserves. Imperial members are expected to participate in charitable works (e.g. funding much-needed government projects) in addition to funding military activities. There is to be an Emperor who would serve merely as a national symbolic figurehead (though perhaps an influential one) during times of peace, but would be Commander-in-chief of the military during war.
    
6. There would be a form of matriarchy. People would use a matriname for their surname, and there would be a formal ennoblement of all mothers. Each matriarchal Noble House would have the right to a portion of real estate (to be provided for free by the Empire).

 

What would such a society be like? For one, positions of power would be less appealing to the greedy since leaders are forced to live without money. There would be no golden parachutes to give incompetent CEOs, no kickbacks for corrupt government officials. I imagine the communists in this society to be living in semi-austerity, wearing cheap uniforms and eating cheap communal food so as not to overburden the companies providing for them (since they have no tax money to rely upon). If there is no one willing to live this kind of life in order to lead a group, then the group will have to live without an official leader. I imagine the Empire could temporarily help in governing the country when there are not enough communists to form a sufficient government, but that would technically be a state of martial law and would not be ideal.

The concept of matriarchal nobility is meant to uplift the status of women and avoid the problems they usually face in a patriarchal society. Instead of relying on her husband for financial support, a woman in this society would be expected to either provide for herself and her children or seek help from the other women in her House (her sisters, mother, aunts, etc.). While men may be invited into a Noble House to participate in the raising of their own children, this privilege would be dependent on the will of the mother and that of the House Matriarch, and may be rescinded at any time.

I wonder what you guys think of my concept of "empire". Perhaps I'll explain the origin of that idea in a later post, but maybe some of you might be able to guess. (Edit: The explanation is here.)


TL;DR: In this theoretical society, leaders have no money, mothers are lords, and professional athletes are soldiers. Any questions?

Edited September 4, 2015 by skaa

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

In my society which I call the Selective Society, people have to take a physical, mental, and moral exam which gives them a list of job options based on their scores. More later.

[SmurfAquamarineBodies he/him]

Ok. I'll bite. But I'm going to need time to write it down ( er type it? ).

[skaa he/him]

No worries! It took me weeks to write something for this, and that turned out to be too storming long. It took another week for me to trim the whole thing down into something that wouldn't scare people off.

I can certainly wait.

[Left he/him]

I'll be writing one up sometime as well, as I love thinking about the subject.

[Voidus]

Cookies. Cookies for everyone. That is all.
(I call it a Mizztopia)

[skaa he/him]

How would one prevent corruption in The Empire? To me, it seems kind of like a socially mandated monopolization of multiple facets of citizen life.

 

I intended the Empire to be sort of an exception to the rules. The Emperor and the rest of the military command, for example, would not be communists; neither would movie directors or other unimportant entertainment and sports administrators. I just don't think such positions are worth the sacrifice needed to become moneyless.

 

So, yes, corruption would be a real risk in the Empire. But note that outside of extreme cases like war and calamity, the Empire would have very little power over the communist government, which supposedly cannot be bribed. Imperial members committing crimes are still subject to law enforcement, and there would even be communist auditors scrutinizing Imperial activities. Yes, that means bankers would have moneyless people watching over their financial work, which sounds funny, but there you go.

Edited August 30, 2015 by skaa

[spencer12347 he/him]

My society is where everyone belongs to everyone else and when they worry they just take a drug called soma. 

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

1. First rule of The Theoretical Society is don't talk about The Theoretical Society

 

2. If the First Rule is broken....It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault.

[mail-mi he/him]

Skaa, I have a question: what are the men good for in your matriarchal society? I mean, women would be both in charge of financial things and rearing children (considering they're the only ones that give birth), which means the men do...what?

That's why I like a patriarchal society, because then men (typically) bring home the bacon, and women (typically) rear the children, which is as important, if not more so, than the financial needs. Which isn't saying that there shouldn't be equal opportunity, but it's saying that both genders have a role in society.

[skaa he/him]

Skaa, I have a question: what are the men good for in your matriarchal society? I mean, women would be both in charge of financial things and rearing children (considering they're the only ones that give birth), which means the men do...what?

That's why I like a patriarchal society, because then men (typically) bring home the bacon, and women (typically) rear the children, which is as important, if not more so, than the financial needs. Which isn't saying that there shouldn't be equal opportunity, but it's saying that both genders have a role in society.

I imagine that a partnership between a mother and father as you described (with the mother taking care of the children and the father providing financial support) would still be possible in a matriarchy if the mother agrees to it. It's just that the man will have to face the wrath of the woman's House if he misbehaves. Also, single mothers would be more empowered in a matriarchal system than in a patriarchal one, and honestly bearing a child for nine months without the support of a husband should not be as difficult for women as it is in many patriarchal societies today.

Edited August 30, 2015 by skaa

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

In my society which I call the Selective Society, people have to take a physical, mental, and moral exam which gives them a list of job options based on their scores. More later.

The Selective Society..... Continued......

After the participants take the exam at age 17, they are given an apartment, some money, a paying job, and told to live your life. However, in the Selective Society, everything is digital, and food delivers right to your FoodCubby, so you never leave your apartment. Below are a list of jobs, ranging from worst to best.

Spambot- Just to make life intresting.

Maintenance: Back ups files, makes sure data is not lost.

Security: Guards programs so hackers don't attack.

Coder: Writes programs.

Ensign: The most common job. Just a regular worker, does any job.

Moderator: Moderators make sure everything is in order and can command security.

Admin: God.

But above all of that, there is a heavenly site, blessed by all. The public calls it the 17th Shard. Members call it Paradise.

[Ookla the Absent]

For an assignment once, I had to make a Bill of Responsibility. I think the teacher was looking for something a little less idealistic...

1.    
Responsibility: Listen.
Explanation: It is the duty of the Citizen to pay attention to what is going on, both in and out of the United States and our various allies, opponents, and international organizations.

2.    
Responsibility: Learn.
Explanation: It is the duty of the Citizen to understand the world, in subjects such as history, math, science, art, linguistics, and governmental theory.

3.    
Responsibility: Teach.
Explanation: It is the duty of the Citizen to teach their knowledge to others, including children, librarians and encyclopedists, and anyone who might benefit in their daily life and or career from obtaining such knowledge.

4.    
Responsibility: Act.
Explanation: It is the duty of the Citizen to take action, including being usefully employed, voting, and being involved in domestic politics, and if and when necessary, entering military service.
   
5.
Responsibility: Think
Explanation: It is the responsibility of the Citizen to think and study upon the results of their actions and learnings to discover new knowledge.

6.    
Responsibility: Lead
Explanation: It is the duty of the Citizen to, when called upon by others or by circumstances, be able and prepared to lead others in their knowledgeable field or in other practical duties and actions, as occasion requires.
 
7.    
Responsibility: Follow
Explanation: When not in a position of direct responsibility, it is the duty of the Citizen to respect the leaders and be willing and capable of acting under their leadership.

8.    
Responsibility: Care
Explanation: It is the duty of the Citizen to care for and assist members of the society who are incapable of self sustenance and preservation including but not limited to elders, children, and those crippled or handicapped for any reason in any way.

9.    
Responsibility: Live
Explanation: It is the responsibility of the Citizen to live, that others may live and be benefited from the Citizens actions and experiences.

10.    
Responsibility: Sacrifice
Explanation: It is the obligation of the Citizen to be ready and willing to make any sacrifice for the betterment of society, monetary, corporal, or otherwise.

The basic idea is that if everyone actually follows these responsibilities, they won't need any other laws. Or rights. They can do anything as long as it is within bounds of their Responsibilities.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Gargoyle

[skaa he/him]

@Gargoyle: If you were to implement a society that follows your Bill of Responsibilities, will there be a government that monitors each Citizen for non-compliance, or will the Responsibilities be enforced by the Citizens themselves (as part of Responsibility 4)? If there will be a government, how would you structure such a government? Also, what would be the consequences of non-compliance?

 

 

Update: Added Venture Mistborn's and Gargoyle's respective entries in the OP.

Edited August 28, 2015 by skaa

[Ookla the Absent]

Well, the concept was as an counterpoint to the US' bill of Rights, but if it were actually imposed (i.e. if I wrote a story), I would have to have it in some sort of low-government communist system, as counterintuitive as that sounds. Communism is amazing theoretically, but if you actually put it into effect you have to deal with power freaks who take over the government.

Noncompliance would probably be punished by being forced to change your calling in life, and in extreme cases of political dissatisfaction, be relocated and reassigned a name, past, memories...

It would be a combination of consensual anarchy and dystopian micromanagement.

[skaa he/him]

Thanks for expanding on your ideas, Gargoyle!

 

Communism is amazing theoretically, but if you actually put it into effect you have to deal with power freaks who take over the government.

 

Yes. For example, I've read about how some Soviet leaders used their positions to enrich themselves to the detriment of others. This is why in my system (I still need to think of a good name for it, by the way), I chose a moneyless form of communism. The problem with this kind of communism, though, is that you can't ethically force everyone to give up their hard-earned money. It has to be voluntary. That's where I got the idea of only giving political power to those who volunteer to sacrifice all financial privileges for the sake of serving others. The rest of the populace can have money, but cannot become politicians. I think this could be a good way of deterring the greedy from positions of power.

 

And since there will always be greedy and vain people who don't even have the advantage of being technology innovators, I tried to find a way to make these people useful to society somehow, perhaps even change their ways. My solution is the "Empire", a pompously-named entity meant to lure such people with promises of celebrity, wealth, and glamour, and then sending them to a life of military discipline that they will be conditioned to embrace.

 

The Empire is more complicated than just being a bunch of militarized celebrities, though. It also controls finance and real estate, and is also responsible for preserving the country's cultural and artistic heritage. For me such things, while valuable, just aren't as important as the food, medical, scientific, and technological industries, so handing them over to the Empire would be my way of making people focus on other more fruitful career opportunities (like agriculture, engineering, or scientific research). Finally, the Empire would exist to prevent the communists from getting resources they should not have, e.g. money (the communists should not be allowed to have bank accounts) and heavy artillery (government enforcers should not be militarized).

Edited September 4, 2015 by skaa