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War. A very touchy issue. A very sensitive issue. It's a question that divides the RL Canadian population, just as it does here in eCanada. Mixed right in, is the issue of imperialism. Already, I'm sure I've brought forth emotions and opinions, some of them very heated and firey. In a role playing game such as eRepublik, many of us carry our RL presuppositions and biases into the game. I am no different.


Toy Soldiers from a War Game

Of course, with any discussion like this, our terms need to be defined. Otherwise, it becomes all about semantics, and could wind up having 2 people who actually agree with each other, arguing with each other because each is operating under a different understanding of the words involved.

So, for the purposes of this article, war shall mean any armed conflict between two parties. Imperialism will be defined as "the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies."

Imperialism should be seen as one type of war, and includes the occupation of a nation for economical reasons.

All of us, or certainly most of us, will agree that the answer to the question in the title of this article is 'no.' We all agreed to defend ourselves and war with the Brits, the French, the Huns and the Persians when they occupied our lands, and we agreed that this was good. But beyond this, there will be a parting of the ways, in many directions as to what, if any, type of warring is good and acceptable.

There are some who will say that eCanada must remain true to an ideology of peace, promoting peace, and, just as we and our allies helped to liberate eCanada from the occupiers, so should we do for others who are also under unjust occupation, but no more. Let's call this the Liberation position. This seems like a popular sentiment among many in eCanada.

There are many other possible militaristic positions out there, so let me state clearly where I stand. I disagree with the position of the immediately preceding paragraph. Yes, what they propose is good, but the limits this position places on legitimate warring is wrong. Let me explain why limiting eCanada`s warring to self defense and liberation of other nations, while noble and heroic, is inadequate.

To adopt this position means that we have failed to carry out justice. When we were occupied, our entire infrastructure was dismantled. People fled to other nations, companies went idle, and our land was raped of resources. Are we not going to hold our former occupiers accountable? One way to do this is to demand a peace treaty with reparations. But of course, this requires their agreement. Absent that agreement, we should invade our enemies as means of reparations. Our occupiers were able to mistreat us and steal from us, and wreak havoc on our nation - with no consequences whatsoever. Is that just? Is that right? What message are we sending? "Come invade us again, occupy us again, and hold onto our resource rich lands until we are able to oust you. We will not hold you responsible, and whatever you can get, you'll be allowed to keep!!"

Yet, be sure I am not advocating imperialism. There is a middle ground, I believe between imperialism, as defined above, and the Liberation position. I would suggest this is to invade one who has occupied us, and destroy their infrastructure in the process (hospitals, defense systems) until we have conquered all or most of their regions.. (We should think twice about declaring war, but as long as war has been declared by our enemies, their lands must be considered fair game). As soon as this is done, we Resistance War all their regions back to them. We do not prolong our presence, nor do we attempt to use their resource rich regions (not that we need them, but even if we did.) We simply demonstrate our outrage at what they did to us, and give them reason to pause if and when they consider invading us again. We cannot not sit idly by and let them do it to us again, without consequence.

Of course, I've been strictly talking theory. What do I propose, on a practical level? Well, it's too late to apply my theory on the UK, or France for their treachery. We have declared a peace with France, and a NAP with the UK, which I believe we must honour (although there is the opinion the NAP is now null & void thanks to the Admins) Our sincere, but misguided leaders in the past have prevented us from exacting justice. But in the future, should we ever be occupied again, to any degree (even if it is just one region), we need to take it to them in their homelands. Our response into their lands should be relatively equal to their incursion into our lands.

And, in eRepublik, war is always fun! It drives the game, and provides a market for all our products - guns, moving tickets, and gifts all see their demand increase dramatically when there is war. The only way to increase food demand is to see a larger eCanadian population, and I believe war is a major attraction for new players. I myself joined eRepublik during the Canadian occupation, during the liberation of eCanada, when Manitoba, Saskatchewan, NWT, and Nunavut were not yet ours again. It was a selling point as I encouraged my RL friends to join. And it goes to say, with increased demand for these manufactured products, likewise with raw materials. Adopting this Liberation policy only leads to boredom, and I have read more than one well experienced, reknowned eCanadian saying they would quit if this becomes the norm. And here is a rhetorial question, but a valid one nonetheless: What would happen if every eNation adopted this Liberation policy?

So both in a theoretical sense, and in a practical sense, what I have called a Liberation policy is wholly inadequate. Good insofar as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough. We must discourage our enemies from thinking that we can simply be taken advantage of without consequence. We must seek justice. We must discourage them from taken advantage of us again. We must stand up for ourselves, be proud, and never, never back down. We. Are. eCanadians!

Wilhelm Gunter