Politics

Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.

"Politics" ultimately comes from the Greek word "polis" meaning state or city. "Politikos" describes anything concerning the state or city affairs. In Latin, this was "politicus" and in French "politique". Thus it became "politics" in the English language

As an Academic Discipline

Political science (also political studies), the study of politics, examines the acquisition and application of power. Related areas of study include political philosophy, which seeks a rationale for politics and an ethic of public behavior, political economy, which attempts to develop understandings of the relationships between politics and the economy and the governance of the two, and public administration, which examines the practices of governance.

Left-Right Politics

Recently in history, political analysts and politicians divide politics into left wing and right wing politics, often also using the idea of center politics as a middle path of policy between the right and left. This classification is comparatively recent (it was not used by Aristotle or Hobbes, for instance), and dates from the French Revolution era, when those members of the National Assembly who opposed the monarchy sat on the left, while those who supported it sat on the right. The original meaning disappeared quickly. A particularly influential event was the publication of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in 1848. The Manifesto suggested a course of action for a proletarian revolution to overthrow the bourgeois society and abolish private property, in the belief that this would lead to a classless and stateless society.

The meaning of left-wing and right-wing varies considerably between different countries and at different times, but generally speaking, it can be said that the right wing often values tradition and capitalism while the left wing often values egalitarianism.

According to Norberto Bobbio, one of the major exponents of this distinction, the Left believes in attempting to eradicate social inequality, while the Right regards most social inequality as the result of ineradicable natural inequalities, and sees attempts to enforce social equality as utopian or authoritarian. Some ideologies, notably Christian Democracy, claim to combine left and right wing politics; according to Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood, "In terms of ideology, Christian Democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles." Movements which claim or formerly claimed to be above the left-right divide include Gaullism in France, Peronism in Argentina, and National Action Politics in Mexico.

Authoritarian-Libertarian Politics

Authoritarianism and libertarianism refer to the amount of individual freedom each person possesses in that society relative to the state. One author describes authoritarian political systems as those where "individual rights and goals are subjugated to group goals, expectations and conformities", while a libertarian political system is one in which individual rights and civil liberties are paramount. More extreme than libertarians are anarchists, who argue for the total abolition of government, while the most extreme authoritarians are totalitarians who support state control over all aspects of society.

For instance, classical liberalism (also known as laissez-faire liberalism, or, in much of the world, simply liberalism) is a doctrine stressing individual freedom and limited government. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, free markets, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional limitation of government, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the writings of John Locke, Adam Smith, David Hume, David Ricardo, Voltaire, Montesquieu and others. According to the libertarian Institute for Humane Studies, "the libertarian, or 'classical liberal,' perspective is that individual well-being, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by 'as much liberty as possible' and 'as little government as necessary.'"

Food politics

Food politics are the political aspects of the production, control, regulation, inspection and distribution of food. The politics can be affected by the ethical, cultural, medical and environmental disputes concerning proper farming, agricultural and retailing methods and regulations.

Contents 1 Policy 2 Technology 3 Security 4 Charity 5 Hunger 6 Retailing

Policy

Government policy now plays a significant role in the production, safety, and distribution of food. The government can regulate the proper storage and preparation of foods, and the enforcement of these regulations has been strongly influenced by public outcry following outbreaks of food poisoning. As a result the inspection of food has become a function of the government.

Technology

The use of certain technological advances to enhance the production of food has become a controversial political issue. The increasing use of factory farming techniques have resulted in criticisms, as opponents believe these methods increase the risk of foodborne illnesses and other risks to the food supply as well as severe environmental degradation with regards to extreme levels of ammonia and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane being released. With factory farming (aka Combined Animal Feeding Operations or CAFOs; or feedlots) many have open air manure lagoons that create major problems when they often leak or the run-off enters local bodies of water, sending toxins into the water supply. The introduction of genetically modified food has likewise become controversial, and there has been much criticism about the risks of gene transfer and food consumption. Finally, there are political activist groups who have concerns about the proper handling of animals, such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Security

In the past, the denial of food deliveries has been used as a weapon in war. For example, during World War I the blockade of the central powers led to significant shortages of food. Likewise during both world wars, the German submarine blockade was intended to starve Britain into submission.

Food security is an important political issue as national leaders attempt to maintain control of sufficient food supplies for their nation. It can drive national policy, encourage the use of subsidies to stimulate farming, or even lead to conflict.

In 1974, the World Food Summit defined food security as:

availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices

Charity

The charitable giving of food exists in a number of countries; the primary purpose being to provide basic essentials for the disadvantaged. Some government programs have also been established to assist with food donations. These programs provide food for school lunch programs, as well as the elderly.

Hunger

Main article: Hunger

Malnutrition and starvation continue to be a persistent problem in some areas of the world. The effects of low agricultural output can be exacerbated by internecine struggles, such as the famine conditions that occurred in Somalia during the 1990s. But even under more stable conditions, hunger persists in some nations. Images of starvation can have a powerful influence, leading to charitable and even military intervention.

Retailing

During the late 1990s and early 21st century a significant amount of discussion and debate has developed surrounding the role of supermarkets in the retailing of food and the impacts of supermarkets both on the supply and production of food. Due to the buying power of the large supermarket chains they can put huge demands on producers, often pushing prices artificially low, whilst still making large profits on the food themselves with some products selling at over 400% the price paid to producers, whilst farmers may only make 50p profit on each animal produced domestically. This buying power also allows supermarkets to transcend national boundaries in sourcing food, for example in the UK where the food market is highly dominated by supermarkets only 25% of apples sold in supermarkets are produced domestically with out-of-season cox apples being flown 14,000 miles from New Zealand, despite the UK being a natural producer of apples. Furthermore due to the national nature of the supply networks used by supermarkets often involve domestically produced foodstuffs being transported around the country before being delivered to retailers, creating a huge impact both on traffic and pollution.

Government simulation game

A government simulation or political simulation is a game that attempts to simulate the government and politics of all or part of a nation. These games may include geopolitical situations (involving the formation and execution of foreign policy), the creation of domestic political policies, or the simulation of political campaigns. They differ from the genre of classical wargames due to their discouragement or abstraction of military or action elements.

Contents 1 Background 2 Computer gaming 3 Online games 4 Related games 5 Training and education

Background

A screenshot from the 2005 computer adaptation of Diplomacy, first created as a board game in 1954.

Games based on geopolitics and elections existed long before the emergence of personal computers and their ability to quickly process large amounts of statistical data. One of the earliest such games was The Game of Politics, created by Oswald Lord in 1935 which remained in print until 1960. In 1954, the board game Diplomacy was created, which differs from other wargames in that it features a "negotiation" phase during which players reach agreements with other players, and then execute military moves simultaneously. National politics has remained a vital area of board gaming, with products such as the 1986 board game Die Macher featuring elections in Germany, and Wreck the Nation which satirizes the politics of the United States under the Bush administration. After enjoying years as a play-by-mail game, Diplomacy was one of the first games to move to take advantage of e-mail, and continues to be a popular email game as of 2007.

Computer gaming

A screenshot from the Atari ST version of Balance of Power.

As computers became more sophisticated, games in this genre moved beyond e-mail to more complex simulations. One of the earliest titles in this genre was Balance of Power, designed by Chris Crawford and published in 1985. This game features conflict at the height of the Cold War, using political and policy decisions to shape outcomes rather than warfare In Balance of Power, any armed conflict between the player and the opponent superpower results in a nuclear war, which is considered a loss condition.

Other Cold War era games included Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator created by Virgin Interactive, and Spectrum Holobyte's Crisis in the Kremlin. Conflict simulated a hypothetical situation in 1997 in which the player assumed the role of the Israeli Prime Minister and was obligated to employ various diplomatic and covert directives to defeat its rival nations. Surrounded by hostile nations, the player was restrained by a very limited military force and was thereby encouraged to employ peaceful means to remain in power until he acquired more advanced weapons systems and power.

In Crisis in the Kremlin, the user could play as any of the three Soviet politicians Mikhail Gorbachev representing the reform party, Yegor Ligachev, the leader of the hard line party and Boris Yeltsin who was the prevalent figure of the nationalist party. The player could use the simulation to test certain strategies to lead the failing Soviet Union into a new era of prosperity or force its dissolution and integration into the new world order. This game introduced the concept of budget management, citizen and faction satisfaction as well as multiple economic values and political spectrum.

Early political simulation games were intended more for education than entertainment. In 1987, On the Campaign Trail was developed as a tool at Kent State University's political campaign management program, and engaged students in decision-making regarding the campaigns for United States Senate elections between 1970 and 1986.Subsequently, a commercial market developed for packaged games involving elections and campaigns.

A screenshot from Stardock's Political Machine game.

The 1992 game Power Politics (and, before it, 1981's President Elect), focused on domestic United States political campaigns (but not the running of the country upon election). In 1996, this was adapted to the Doonesbury Election Game, designed by Randy Chase (who also did Power Politics) and published by Mindscape, in which players conducted a campaign with the assistance of a pool of advisors selected from characters in the Doonesbury comic strip, a successor entitled Power Politics III was released in 2005. In 2004, Stardock published Political Machine, in which the player steers a candidate through a 41-week election cycle for United States President, developing policies and tailoring talk show appearances and speech content. The game is heavily tied to modern polling methods, using real-time feedback for how campaign strategy impacts polling numbers. In 2006, TheorySpark released President Forever 2008 + Primaries, an election simulation game that allows the player to realistically control an entire election campaign through both the Primaries and General Election.

Some games in the genre involve enacting policies and budget decisions to sway voters. One such game is Democracy, published in 2005 by Positech Games. In Democracy, players make decisions during each turn regarding which policies to support. As turns progress, the player views how their favorability rating changes amongst certain types of voters. Candidates make promises before each election, and failure to follow-through can result in lower support during the player's reelection campaign. Another is Commander in Chief (video game), produced by Eversim, boasting an array of choices for domestic policy and decisions. Another such game is Tropico.

There can also be found games that puts the player in the seat of a state leader, such as SuperPower, and its sequel, SuperPower 2, whose goals are to produce economic stability and prosperity, but the game mainly evolves around foreign policies, with the abilities to interact with other countries in many ways. The game includes a great number of real-life treaties that influence countries.

Online games

There are also forum-based roleplaying games of government simulation and nation simulation. These types of games allow players to participate in a government simulation game via a web based forum .

Related games

A mature city from SimCity 4.

Other construction and management simulations require government management. For example, city-building games such as the SimCity series of games published by Maxis simulates the experience of being a mayor. SimCity features a real-time environment in which the player can create zones for city development, build roads, power and water utilities, and watch as their city develops based on their decisions. The game was originally published in 1989 and as of 2003 was in its fourth major release. Strategy games frequently make use of government management challenges. 4X games require the management of a government, be it tribal or interstellar. This includes tasks such as building infrastructure and conducting trade. Galactic Civilizations II requires players to manage their approval rating to keep their political party in power. Domestic policy is sometimes abstracted with more emphasis on international conflict. For example, the Civilization series gives players total control over resources, and radically restructuring an empire is a matter of clicking the "REVOLUTION!" button.

Other strategy games focus on government management to varying degrees. For instance, in the Hearts of Iron games (set in World War II) the civilian population is only a factor with partisans and manpower, whereas in Victoria a player must not only hobnob and conquer, but implement the Second Industrial Revolution while warding off - or ushering in - the more literal ones of 1848, communism, etc.

Government and politics have also been incorporated into adventure games. A Mind Forever Voyaging, published by Infocom in 1985, was an interactive fiction game in which the player controlled a sentient computer capable of experimenting with potential future scenarios based on varying public policy decisions. Newsweek said of the game, "It isn't '1984,' but in some ways it is even scarier."

Training and education

Beyond entertainment, these games have practical applications in training and education of government personnel. Training simulations have been created for subjects such as managing law enforcement policies (such as racial profiling), the simulation of a military officer's career, and hospital responses to emergency situations.