Quote:
Originally Posted by Anaiyah
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And I would agree with you completely. It is such a vastly complicated subject that no human being on this planet can claim to have any real grasp on how to fix a fundamental problem with the economy by simple actions alone.
The person that I quoted above is a shining example of such a person. Someone who thinks that their common sense economics theory is in any way realistic or accurate. Anyone who makes even a meager attempt to study the subject will feel utterly humbled and never make a response like that, which is why I made my assumption about his education.
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Well stated. I have no formal education in economics myself, but I am curious enough to have researched something about the differences between Miltonian and Keynesian theories, read some books and blogs and even had the chance to see Paul Krugman speak live (he's extremely humorous in person).
My personal opinion on the current economic malaise is that it's just another cyclical downturn. America is still extremely rich in natural resources and educational institutions. We've been buying from the rest of the world on credit and we have some fundamental suppliers trying to advance profits faster than the economy, including finance, energy, education, housing and health care. Things simply had to correct and correction is never much fun for anyone, especially whoever is left standing when the music stops.
In American culture, we seem to love scapegoats so we try to find someone to blame for our misfortunes: Bush, Obama, bankers, real estate brokers, public sector unions, private sector unions, whoever. Sometimes individuals or institutions actually did something illegal and/or immoral, but most of the time there's a systemic problem. I think our ongoing boom and bust cycle is systemic and that if we want it to stop, we need to change our government to be more foresightful. I have absolutely no idea how to make that happen.
As to the original topic of selling characters for platinum or real dollars, I don't have much opinion. I don't think it affects game play all that much. Reasonably good players willing to devote a lot of time to the game will coalesce regardless of whether they leveled their own characters or acquired them some other way. There will be people who like to powerlevel if the reward is cash or platinum or just another level 50 character. There will be people who like to farm platinum whether the result is real life profit or just a huge number in game.
Compared to the real world, the Project 1999 economy is very simple and will inevitably balance itself. If anything gets too far out of whack, it won't be hard for the developers to adjust things. I think this thread is just grumbling over a small thing and the most interesting aspect is this sub-theme about the current real world economy.
08-27-2010, 08:06 PM
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