Author: P.D. Magnus (---.rr.com)
Date: 07-01-2003 13:35
Most of the responses to the article so far harp on the comments about the economy of Norrath. This, however, is not Johan's central point. Oddly, he doesn't cite any sources for it-- Interested parties might scope out a BBC story http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=294828 and Edward Castronova's 2001 paper http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=294828
Johan's central point, I take it, is that we gamers should make political demands. We should push for a society in which people have more free time and have to work less. This is a laudable goal for independent reasons. The present economic situation (in the US at least) gives employers incentives to overwork their employees rather than hire additional employees.
The fact about a shorter work week or shorter working hours is that people would have more liesure time. One might feat that most folk would just use the extra time to watch more TV, smoke more crack, or whatall stultifying claptrap. Johan's suggestion that gaming offers another possibility is tantalizing if somewhat utopian.
--P.D.
PS: `Norrath invades Russia with the help of Bulgarian Special Forces' sounds like a turn in a game of custom-deck Illuminati.
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