In the previous entries of the Moodboard & Designer Notes series, we explored the various faces of democracy and introduced Meritocracy. Today we dive deeper into another political system featured in the Republica DLC: Oligarchy.
The essence of meritocracy is in selecting the best candidate for the job. Not just selecting one of your friends or business partners.
This series of articles aims to showcase the main themes of Shadow Empire: Republica DLC, an expansion currently in development by Vic (VR Designs) that focuses on politics.
Please note: the following images and ideas are conceptual representations meant to illustrate the narrative and thematic tone of the DLC. In-game footage and new visual assets will be revealed later in development.
Moodboard: Oligarchy
The President activated the Vidcom wall screen, the large display casting a blue-ish light in the dimly lit chamber. The images of the three candidates flickered into view, none of the faces he saw inspired confidence. “Commander of the 1st Armored Corps is a serious position,” he muttered. “How can we have these numskulls as nominees?”
He turned to his Human Resources Advisor, who sat patiently beside him in a wheelchair, impaired but with his eyes still sharp. The Advisor was a good man with a deep commitment to the greater good. The president asked, “Isn’t it possible to dismiss some of these candidates? For example, that Jerome fellow? He doesn’t even have any military experience. How can he be a nominee in the first place?”
“Well, sir…” replied the HR Advisor, his voice filled with a blend of frustration and hope, “it is not so much an exercise in meritocracy here but more like a complicated game of patronage.”
The president sighed deeply, the weight of their stagnating society pressing heavily upon him. “I know, I know… But why don’t these bastards adhere to our principles anymore? The best man gets the most important job?”
“In a way, they do,” replied the HR apparatchik, raising an eyebrow, “In many ways, they are the true winners. Only those most adept in the arts of clientelism and corruption have managed to climb so high that they can influence the choices of the military selection committee.”
The president’s expression darkened as he contemplated their predicament. “How did we end up here? Instead of selecting the best candidates for the whole country, we are selecting the best candidates for a tiny clan of oligarchs.”
The HR apparatchik took the Vidcom control from the table, his hands steady despite his degraded health. He tapped it a few times until an image showed up of the great victory over the Nomadic Alliance. The flickering screen displayed scenes of past glory, of battles won, sacrifices made and parades of victory. “Remember?” he murmured.
“How could I not…,” said the president in an equally grumpy voice. “You lost your legs, for starters…”
The Advisor looked down at his wheelchair and his missing legs. The President continued: “Those were the times… we fought… everybody fought… sacrificed themselves for the homeland.”
“Ehm… Indeed,” confirmed the slightly disturbed apparatchik. “But do you also remember what happened afterwards?”
“Yeah,” said the president, his tone heavy with regret. “Things went downhill… all the way to us nominating this former vacuum-cleaning salesman as Commander of our elite armored Corps…”
The HR Advisor sighed, rolling his wheelchair back a bit, and patiently said, “No, I am talking about the frontline and our military operations.”
The president took the clue, his mind going back to the days of conflict and victory. “Well… we won and we managed to reap the benefits, right? We got hold of those Alliance’s Rare Metals mines and gave our populace what they deserved after all their efforts: Quality of Life, lower taxes, and even access to more luxury goods.”
“Indeed,” nodded the HR Advisor. “I’ve thought a lot about it, and I believe it’s precisely that… we went soft. Our people started to spend more time on themselves instead of on their country. They began to prefer fancy clothing over military fatigues, career building over heroics.”
The president nodded slowly, absorbing the analysis of his Advisor and the gravity of their situation. “That makes perfect sense. You’re more insightful than meets the eye, Advisor. But does that mean we just have to start a new war to get out of this mess?”
The Advisor switched the Vidcom screen back to the three candidates, the images now looking even more inadequate under the scrutiny of their conversation. Slumped in his wheelchair, he said, “Alas… no… it’s far too late for that, President. We will not win any wars with guys like Jerome in charge.”
Designer Notes: Meritocracy turning to Oligarchy in Republica DLC
Once Virtus goes down in a Meritocracy the question of who should govern will be answered differently by your elites. Instead of the most “capable” it will slide into the most “deserving.”
In practice the most deserving according to your elites will often be the one with the most Social Standing, the most Seniority or the most Patronage. Once you have arrived here you find yourself in an Oligarchy. As our President did in the story above. They wiggle their way into positions of power and leave you little choice but to appoint their “friends” as well.
Meritocracy turning to Oligarchy is like atrophy setting in. Be careful to not be too complacent with a light Oligarchy as it has a tendency to entrench itself. It will get harder to get new Leaders to important positions once Oligarchs start to dominate your Leader Pool.
When Virtus goes low your Leaders will get a chance to get the Oligarch Feat. This Feat will make them siphon off funds and pass contracts to their business friends (kick-back). What they do is semi-legal (as opposed to outright corruption) and their subversion only works well under low Virtus conditions because it takes two to Tango: An oligarchic Leader as well as a society/business or government culture that’s willing to think likewise.
The Wealth acquired by Oligarchs will often be spent on Social Standing Leader Feats. This will give them higher Social Standing Scores, which will help the Oligarchs with most Social Standing to secure the top jobs.
Furthermore Oligarchs with a lot of Wealth will become the Patrons of Client Leaders, ensuring their support within their Faction and bringing closer their goal of becoming Faction Leader.
In game theory terms: Oligarchs will siphon off funds and use those funds to rise to the top of the pyramid where they will spread their lack of Virtus all over the place.
There is a real danger of getting caught in a downwards spiral with Oligarchy. As happened to the Nation in the story. As the Oligarchs demoralize the Nation and drag down Virtus, which further reduces their barriers to growing more powerful and grabbing more resources.
Over time this could give rise to Dynastic Families that will basically be above the law. But this would involve a system change from Oligarchy to Aristocracy. We’ll discuss that next Moodboard.
The story above ended on a desperate note, but there is hope in darkness… when things turn really sour for the Populace, due to exploitation by the Oligarchs, they might rise up in revolt to dispose of the hated Oligarchs and install a democracy. So everybody gets equal power. After all… why would only a small percentage of the Populace have all the power?
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