Nasty, brutish but apparently not short
Entry posted by Ogaden
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CN is a classic Darwinian environment, where you either adapt to the environment and carve out an ecological niche, or you are ground into hamburger in short order. That's not to say that it is a rigid and unchanging environment, indeed one thing CN has going for it is constant revolution against the established order. Whether it be from boredom, desire for revenge, paranoia about impending revenge, fear and loathing, drugs and alcohol or even by accident, the status who is constantly being tossed into the woodchipper and buried out back in black plastic bags.
I personally see 5 factors at play that work to make CN the place that it is, and once you understand how these factors play out, the bizarre turns in CN almost seem to make sense, almost. They are not negative and indeed all play into CN's political dynamism.
1: Tribalism
CN is also a classic tribal society. Most of the grudges people carry and alliances people hate have little reason to do so beyond the fact that they are "their enemies". Because it's a tribal and not logical society, all of that tribes "greater tribe" (sphere, bloc, blob of allies, what have you) all decide to adopt the grudge as well because "Tribe before brain". People will be hostile to people just because of what alliance they're in, even if they just met.
2: Tall Poppy Syndrome
Either due to envy, avarice, fear and loathing, paranoia, or again drugs and alcohol, alliances and individuals who are noteworthy, powerful or "in power" in the hegemonic sense, end up on various people's "lists" for individuals or alliances they need to "deal with". The obsession with DBDC currently is a classic example of this phenomenon. Tall poppy syndrome is a neverending and self-perpetuating process as the very act of removing a mighty, hegemonic or extraordinary alliance requires an equally herculean coalition with similarly extraordinary alliances, who then become the new tall poppies.
3: Boredom
The grease of diplomacy, war and collapse. Boredom is the great motivator and the cull that ends our nations when it reaches a crisis point. Boredom can bring people to do things they wouldn't do in this game even if they were drunk, especially with leaders who have impulse control issues. Boredom compels people to leave stagnant alliances, to found new initiatives, to try new things and innovate. Our eternal struggle against being bored we will ultimately never win, but the journey is what is important.
4: Immortality
Our nations cannot die until we decide they do, and even then, with rule changes they won't even die THEN. We continue on forever, slowly accumulating cynicism and land growth. We remember the good old days, the bad old days, the indifferent old days, the days we wish we could forget and the days we can't quite remember. Grudges of yesteryear for people to bring up tomorrow in an argument over something only you still remember. It's the equivalent of if George Washington was still alive and still pissed off at Benedict Arnold for switching sides 230 years ago.
5: Ambition
CN is a game where an ambitious leader can forge a grand vision, and due to a combination of boredom, drugs and alcohol, apathy and tribalism, vast armies will follow their, occasionally delusional or stupid grand design. It is a fabulous environment to be a Machiavellian genius or a tinpot Napoleon. Anyone who isn't a complete moron with a hint of ambition and relatively active can rise to high leadership and embark on their quest to leave their mark on the world.
These factors all blend together to constantly leave the political environment of CN, even in its most calcified state, fundamentally unstable and gloriously shaky. It's like we're all living in a 19th century South American dictatorship and there's a coup every 3 months or so.
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