Pollution and it's Impact

While playing the game Civilization IV I realized that the over-industrialized cities had a great amount of pollution that negatively impacted the people living there, a truth that should be applied to our own society before it is too late. Pollution has always been a great truth that has been either largely denied or ignored, a horrific problem that will only get worse if things continue the way that they are. We live in a world where people care so much about money and products that they are willing to destroy the environment around us to have them. The government does not help this situation, especially with a president who makes ignorant statements such as "I do not believe that global warming exists." There is no reason that any person, especially an educated person, should feel this way within a society where there has been overwhelming research resulting in evidence that proves that global warming very much does exist. During the game when a city becomes over industrialized a green sick face is shown to let the player know that the people are unhappy and ill because of the pollution. If the person playing the game is smart they will attempt to fix this problem, by eliminating some of the industry or finding another way to reduce the pollution. However, when the pollution is ignored the population continues to grow unhappy and ill and eventually the production rate is so low that the city is virtually costing more than it is making. Unfortunately, in the real world there is no automated way of showing the negative effects of pollution, no sick and sad face that shows up on the presidents computer whenever he turns it on. But, even without the sad face, the effects of pollution can be seen and should not be ignored, clear examples like the elimination of our atmosphere, leading to deadly diseases such as skin cancer. In addition, drinking water has been contaminated leading to many health problems, birth defects and mental retardation. Even worse, the air we breathe continues to get worse every year, leading to mass amounts of asthma and other breathing defects, even problems within the lungs. Is the president so stupid that he needs to see the sad face before he does something? Or will he possibly take action before it is too late and the entire United States population becomes ill or in some other way negatively effected by the pollution surrounding them? All of the answers to these questions lay in the future, but hopefully something will be done before it is too late, instead of just ignoring or denying that a problem even exists. While money may be important, if pollution gets too far money will not be able to buy anything, because the world as we know it may not even exist.

How much should a government spend?

Determining how much money to spend and what to spend it on has always been a problem for governments worldwide, and also presents an important problem for those people playing Civilization IV as they determine how to allocate their resources. Throughout history many different views have been taken, in many different places, on the role the government should play in the economy. Systems ranged from Marxism to Laissez-faire, with economists claiming each were the best at different time periods and in different nations. In addition, the amount that a government deficit should be has also changed drastically over time, with some economists believing there should not be a deficit at all, and others believing that you had to put money into the economy in order to get money out. All these men beleived they were right, and there is no definite answer, making this one of the most difficult questions to answer, both in the real world and in the game.

According to Heilbroner, during the New Deal of the 1930s the government decided that they were going to spend money in order to benefit society and help to reinvigorate the economy. By creating and funding a GI bill the government allowed "the American system of higher education to grow in leaps and bounds." (140) In addition, during the Cold War massive government spending occured in order to remain equal, or better, than the Soviet Union in the arena of nuclear weapons. Moreover, the government spent a great deal of money on a network of highways that would run nationwide and make transportation within the United States much easier and efficient. Airports were also built at this time to make air travel more affordable and turn it into the travel business that we know so well today. All of these positive changes helped to make American society better for all those citizens living in it, and the government spending clearly was what enabled this to happen, ultimately helping instead of hurting the economy.

While playing the game Civilzation IV the same kind of decisions need to be made, what to build, how much to spend and what resources to use in order to best stablize or invigorate the economy. While the answer to the question of how much the government should spend is never easy, it is clear that government spending is almost always neccessary in order for big projects to be successful. Without government spending things such as air travel and a road system would be nearly impossible to achieve without disastorous effects. In addition, international trade would be almost impossible without officials to regulate and determine the value of different currencies and products. While playing the game it is important to remember that the government should spend money for valuable programs and developments, and also for necessary wars, but should not over-spend because it could lead to the demise of the entire nation. While this happy medium is often difficult to find, it is not impossible, and those players of the game should pay attention to important details and financial situations to ensure that they are making the best decision possible.

Effects of War Upon the Economy - An Unrealistic Aspect of the Game?

War has been prevalent among nations throughout most of history, a time when increased food, weapons, uniforms and other supplies become neccessary to support soldiers. Therefore, during war time there is increased government spending and often a change in what is produced in order to fulfill these needs. Especially during wars in which a nation is supporting not only itself, but also weaker fighting nations, these demands are incredibly high. Because these demands become so high there is usually a shift in what is being produced, switching to war producing industries instead of consumer goods. Although wars are expensive and often painful, they spark the economy in an interesting way that no other event has ever been able to. Because of this spark, post-war industry is usually at the highest point that a nation sees, with the least unemployment and the greatest amount of consumer spending. However, within the game this change is often not evident, and although the expenses of war take their toll, the post-war economic spark does not seem to be evident.

According to Heilbroner, during World War II "camme a tremendous forced expansion in governent outlays." Prior to this time government intervention in the economy and spending had been limited but this forced the government to increase spending in order to obtain the proper amount of weapons, supplies and food. By 1944 the government had spent over $100 billion, realizing that as long as production grew then a great federal deficit could be manageable. This great spending helped to lift America out of it's economic depression, ending a great amount of the previous unemployment and allowing the economy to revive because of the great amount of money that was now being put into it. Without WWII the depression could have lasted much longer. Even after the war ended unemployment was not as high as expected and the economy did not collapse to the pre-war depression.

However, within the game Civilization IV, war never seems to help an economy but only to hurt it unless another nation is acquired, along with all of it's resources and factories. War, just as in real life, is very expensive and takes an economic toll on the nation but does not seem to do anything to spark the economy. Ultimately, in the game the spending of war only goes to hurt the civilians of a nation instead of helping them, leading only to suffering and poverty but never to prosperity. This is obviously inaccurate, at least historically, and is a part of the game that could possibly be altered to create a more realistic situation.