Successful Economy through International Trade

International Trade becomes detrimental to the economic success of a nation as it progresses and hopes to advance. This truth can be seen both in the game and in the history of almost all economically successful nations on earth. It becomes almost impossible for a nation to shut itself off from international trade if it has valuable goods that other nations desire, just as Japan was unable to prevent trade with the United States after an attack. International trade has become an important part of the world economy today and very few countries can remain self sufficient and isolated from the rest of the world. Likewise, trade between nations becomes an important part of the game almost initially, and increases in importance as the nation progresses and attempts to gain further economic success.

Over time international trade has become an important and indispensable part of not only the United States economy but of economies throughout the world. All of the most economically successful nations are involved in an intricate network of trade with one another in order to best distribute resources; very few nations remain independent within today's economy. According to Colander in chapter three of Economics, sixth edition, since the 1990s international trade has grown to an even greater level due to the ".com" era and expansion of buying and selling on the internet, something known as e-commerce. With e-commerce international trade has grown increasingly easier and people with access to a computer and internet now have the entire world to purchase products from, not just the United States. This new convenience increases competition and therefore allows for the best prices and the best products to be available to consumers, while those companies not willing to conform to internet based business will eventually go bankrupt. Because of the increase in competition, not only domestic but also foreign, prices drop and the best products are produced for the consumer, ultimately allowing all those involved to benefit, except for the companies that can not compete and therefore go bankrupt.

Because of the new e-commerce expansion and the willingness of consumers to purchase products over the internet instead of in stores, global corporations have expanded rapidly. According to Colander, global corporations are "corporations with substantial operations on both the production and sales sides in more than one country." Global corporations allow companies to employ the best suited candidates for a job, regardless of location, and therefore can increase their success. In addition, global corporations allow the business to escape some of the costly or time consuming laws of one country by operating mainly in a different country. All of these become benefits for the corporation, which ultimately results in a better and cheaper product for the consumer, allowing both the consumer and the corporation to benefit. In addition, international trade allows nations to get products that are much more costly for them to produce from another nation, once again allowing both nations to benefit. It would be nearly impossible for economies to advance to this rate without international trade and global corporations.

Looking at the historical perspective of global nations, on which the game Civilization IV is based, one can apply the same ideas to the game and gain great success. Almost immediately international trade is introduced to the game and allows nations to benefit from one another, although initially it is not quite as important as it will later become. This trade allows nations to gain gold, food, ideas, and supplies that would not otherwise be available to them within their own nation. As the game, and therefore time, goes on, trade becomes increasingly important and those nations that do not participate have much less success within their economy and gold supply. In addition, ideas can also be transferred through trade, such as religion and democracy. Without these ideas people within a nation are often unhappy and less productive, once again resulting in a less successful economy. Overall, international trade increases productivity, gold, and the greater happiness of the people within a society. Those who chose not to participate in international trade make a choice that could harm not only their economy but the entire success of their nation.

In conclusion, international trade becomes detrimental to the economic prosperity of a nation as it advances technologically and culturally. Without international trade nations have no way of competing with those nations who do use economic trade and will remain less successful due to opportunity costs and the price of making certain products with limited resources. Using trade helps nations to advance their economy and makes the people within the nation happier overall. Not to use international trade, either in real life or the game, is a poor choice and should be avoided at all costs.

Agricultural Significance withing Civilization IV

Civilization IV presents a realistic interpretation of the importance of agricultural ingenuity to the success of a society or empire within the game, portraying a common truth of historic societies. Without success in agriculture it becomes very difficult to obtain success in any other realm of society, mainly because there can be no specialists or nobility if plentiful food sources can not be obtained from the masses. All of the great empires of the past discovered ways to best use their land and resources for food production, just as players of Civilization IV must attempt to do. According to Heilbroner and Milberg in The Making of Economic Society, Twelfth Edition, it becomes impossible for a nation or empire to industrialize if agricultural success can never be reached, a truth that Civilization IV also portrays. Although most ancient societies never reached the peak of market economy, those who came closest were those who mastered the art of farming and used the excess food the greatest advantage of the empire.

Almost all the great ancient societies were mainly agricultural, according to Heilbroner and Milberg, exemplifying the importance of thriving farming and production within an empire. Furthermore, even the most industrialized modern societies "in a sense....live off the soil." (16) This same truth can be applied throughout the game, no matter what age or time period the nation is in, if agriculture can not be maintained the people will starve and vanquish. Therefore, maintaining strong food sources within one's nation becomes one of the best ways to ensure success throughout the game. In order to advance industrially there must be enough surplus food for specialists to develop the necessary technology and for workers to become industrial instead of agricultural. Basically, a small number of farmers must be able to support a large population before a nation can really advance in any way. Therefore, "all that differentiates an 'industrial' society from an 'agricultural' one is the number of the nonagricultural population that its food growers can support." (16)

Moreover, technological and agricultural success often parallel one another because increased technology allows farmers to produce more food and therefore support more non-agricultural workers, who then create more technology to help the farmer. Therefore, as long as agricultural success increases, technological success is almost sure to follow. This can explain one of the main reasons that nations such as America and England find such great economic success, because they were the first to master and expand on farming, and therefore farmers in these nations could sustain the greatest number of people who then increase technology. This technique can also be applied to the game, first building up the food source, then allowing for technology that will make food production easiest and most successful, which will then further increase the success of the entire nation. By building aqueducts or selecting for other technologies that will enable farmers to produce more food at a quicker rate, I learned that my nation increased it's success and advanced even further. Once again, I feel that initially focusing on agriculture, and ensuring it's success periodically throughout the game, will lead to the greatest and most powerful empires within the game.

Heilbroner and Milberg claim that "all ancient societies were basically rural economies," but these rural economies established the important groundwork for the market economy that we use today. (17) By enabling even a small percentage of people to focus on technology through better farming, some of the best ancient nations developed strong road systems and weapons that enabled them to rise above and beyond the average economic and social position of an empire at that time. However, farmers today live in a very different world and "are very much bound up in the web of transactions characteristic of a market society." (17) All products that they produce are typically sold on the market and all necessary technology that they purchase is typically bought on the market, making them active members in the market economy. Although this was not as typical in ancient societies, they still traded in a more barter-like fashion, enabling farmers to receive necessary supplies through feeding of the masses. Once again, this can be applied to the game, showing the importance and intricacy of food production for a society. Farmers should be glorified and made to prosper, and if they are not then a society is doomed, because without food there can never be success.

Ultimately, I believe that one of the main components of creating a successful empire in Civilization IV is to increase food production to the greatest possible degree. With increased food production a monarchy, and later democracy, can be established and greater happiness will be available to the people living within the empire. In addition, new technologies can be easily developed if enough surplus food is available to maintain those industrial workers and specialists that are not farming. A key factor to winning this game, just as a key factor in historically successful empires, is food production and use of the land to the greatest possible extent.

Are Roads Important in a Civilization?

Civilization IV presents the opportunity to build roads to those playing the game, but it seems almost like an afterthought, secondary to building up an economy and cities, presenting the question of the importance of roads within a society. Throughout history some societies have chosen to focus on building a strong road system, such as that of the Roman Empire, while others have had virtually no roads whatsoever. While reading The Making of Economic Society, Twelfth Edition, by Heilbroner and Milberg I realized the importance of roads historically, and questioned their importance in the game. Roads have been important to success in trading, travel, and maintaining power throughout much of history and in many societies. However, while playing the game I only built roads as an afterthought, more concerned with obtaining gold, food and technology, in addition to expanding my empire.

Building a comprehensive road system gave historical societies a chance to better travel and trade, while allowing an emperor to retain power over his vast empire, as seen in the incredibly successful Roman empire. According to Heilbroner and Milberg in the third chapter of their book, Europe first began to see an emerging market economy through the traveling merchants who visited their towns and brought exotic products for the citizens to purchase. These merchants insisted on being payed in gold, comparable to currency in today's economy, although this policy was highly unlikely in the mostly feudal economy of the time, and presented the first view of commerce and trade that would eventually lead to a market economy. However, the advancement of a market economy through the traveling merchants became drawn out and slow, taking hundreds of years, mainly because insufficient roads caused these merchants to travel slowly from town to town. In addition, not only was it difficult to move goods over the roads, or pathways as the case may be, it was also difficult for people to move or travel over these roadways. Difficulty of travel may be one reason that people remained content to live on a manor, with no desire to see the world or experience a different lifestyle, since it would be incredibly difficult and maybe even impossible. According to Heilbroner and Milberg, "until the roads recovered, economic movement was limited and limping," one explanation for the success of feudalism and lack of economic prosperity within Middle Ages Europe. These observations and comments prove that if Europe had built a sufficient road system earlier in it's history it may have been more successful both economically and militarily.

After realizing the importance of a thorough road system for the advancement of a civilization historically, especially in an economic sense, I began to question my nearly non-existent road system within the game. While playing the game I chose to focus mainly on obtaining new technologies and used my workers mainly to build new cities so I would be able to obtain more research opportunities. I also found it important to make democratic contacts with other civilizations and to expand my empire as far as possible. Finally, I managed to build a somewhat functioning, but by no means perfect, economy by growing vast amounts of food and choosing the technologies, such as banking and math, that promised to advance my economy. I managed to bring in enough gold this way for my empire to be fairly successful, but did not have the richest economy of all the empires in the game, which could cause a problem should war or a desire to conquer other nations occur. Now that I have been reminded by Heilbroner and Milberg about the historical importance of roads, I intend to build a highly functional road system within my civilization to see if it advances trade and travel, ultimately hoping to better my economy. I feel that this new strategy will help to advance the position of my civilization within the game and will hopefully make me the most successful ruler of all the nations.

In conclusion, roads have had a historical significance in the success of nations, economies, trade and travel ever since great empires began to be built. Rome presents a great example of what a wide-ranging road system can do for an empire and shows the success that it brought about. Through this road system, the emperor was able to maintain control over his vast empire by easily deploying military units to sections where people were attempting to rebel. In addition, trade and travel could easily occur within the empire, furthering the economy and leading for an advancement of the people living within the civilization. Without these roads, Rome may never have become one of the greatest empires of all times and may have remained an unknown and short-lived empire. Roads are important within all societies, even today, and this leads me to believe that they would also be significant within the game, a theory I intend to test the next time that I play. Without roads travel and trade would be much more difficult, and even impossible in some areas, and the world would be an incredibly different place from what it is today.

Tecnological Advances - Historically vs. The Game

Civilization IV is an advanced game that attempts to recreate the effects that certain actions, such as inventing and adopting technologies, will have on a society; however, several differences can be seen in the way that technology affects the game and in the way that technology affected history. Although this may seem trivial to an average person playing the game solely for enjoyment, when using this game as a teaching method it can misinform a player about technology and the effect that it can have on a society. Thus far in the game, cities create and readily adopt technologies which persevere within the society until a better technology is found to replace it; however, historically speaking this adoption and perseverance in all societies is not necessarily the case. Moreover, all societies within the game seem to advance at a relatively equal pace, each adapting helpful technologies and often trading with one another, but historically some societies advanced at a much quicker rate than others.
Civilization IV presents technologies solely as helpful and reliable tools that will be readily adopted and used within all societies that have the option; however, historically many societies have come into contact with technologies, either through their own innovation or through interaction with other societies, and have quickly rejected them. For example, after building cities within the game certain technologies are presented as options for the leader to choose to research and develop, after which the society ultimately adopts them. Although leaders can choose not to research or develop technologies, they will remain without gold, food, or the proper weaponry for fighting against enemies and maintaining their city. Basically, if a person wishes not to lose the game they must develop technologies at a rate almost the same as that of their surrounding societies.
However, historically, and even today, some societies chose not to develop technologies that seem mundane and everyday within modern and developed societies; moreover, some societies developed certain technologies and then chose to abandon them and eliminate further use. For example, archaeologists found the Phaistos disk, an ancient type of printing press and alphabet, at the site of a Minoan palace on the island of Crete but no evidence of it's use could be found at the site. Since archaeologists dated it around 1700 B.C. it would be "by far the earliest printed document in the world." Despite the fact that the Minoans developed this early technology, they decided against use and continued to live a more primitive lifestyle, probably because it was costly and few people within the society were literate. However, if this event had occured within the game, the society would immediately have adopted it and began use to "better" their society. Because of this fact the game does not take into account that technologies are usually "a matter not of individual inventiveness but of the receptivity of whole societies to innovation." Within the game all societies seem receptive to innovation as long as the leader chooses to research and adopt it within the society. On the other hand, the game does show that a lack of technology can lead to loss within battles and war, a fact that has been seen throughout history. Because of this fact, for leaders wishing to maintain their society, especially those on a large continent and surrounded by potential enemies, "war has often been a leading stimulant of technological innovation." Therefore, the game does present some realistic aspects of innovation and technological adoption, but for the most part presents an unrealistic view of the receptivity and use of technology within a society.
In addition, the relatively equal pace at which societies in the game seem to advance presents a historical inconsistency, not showing that some societies advance much slower than others, often by choice. Although many people attempt to explain this historical inconsistency based on location and resources, "on any continent, at any given time, there are innovative societies and also conservative ones." One reason that some societies do not adopt technologies that they come into contact with is that they feel the upkeep of the technology would outweigh any benefits that might come from it. Another reason is that the society is relatively conservative and resistant to chance, preferring to maintain tradition and live as their fathers did. In addition, in order for a society to adopt and advance technology they must be sedentary, so any nomadic society can not become as technologically advanced as sedentary neighbors. Almost all societies within the modern world are sedentary, but some, such as those people living in New Guinea, choose to live simpler lifestyles without modern technologies. Therefore, although the game represents societies as advancing almost equally in the technological realm, historically societies did not do so.
Although many people consider Civilization IV a great game both for enjoyment and educational purposes, it does contain some recognizable historical inconsistencies. Technological innovation within the game must be adopted and maintained in order to prevent take over from enemies, loss of gold and food, and ultimately loss of the game. However, historically many societies chose not to adopt technologies available to them, but instead to lead a more simple lifestyle. Many reasons can be presented for this choice, ranging from cost of upkeep to traditional values and lifestyles, but for whatever reason many societies rejected technologies presented to them by outsiders. Even today, when most of the world can not imagine living without technology, some societies still live only with the simplest tools and lifestyles. For example, the New Guineans have very few tools other than those necessary to maintain their crops and lifestyles. These people chose to live without any modern luxuries or technologies and often do not even use clothes. However, this society remains self-functioning and fully intact, proving that technology is not necessary for survival. Ultimately, Civilization IV represents a portrayal of building and maintaining a society within the world, but fails to be completely historically accurate, especially in regards to technological innovation and adaptation.