A Quiet Week

Civilization: India
Difficulty: Settler
Game Speed: Normal

Not much to report this week, except that I'm greatly impressed with the Indian "Fast Worker" unit. I only chose India for a little variety, but now I'm glad I did. India (the geographic location) has a crazy amount of resources, and Fast Workers allow you to take advantage of them. Anyway, it's early in the game, and my new strategy has yet to reach the stage of full implementation, so this will be a short post. However, you can expect longer posts in the coming weeks as my scheme comes into its full glory.

What is this glorious scheme? World conquest! I have finally given up notions of peaceful, diplomatic victory and intend to wage a full-scale war of domination against my rivals. The plan is to focus on technological development and expansion early in the game, then, when space starts to run out and my military is sufficiently superior in technology and size, seize capitals and incorporate the fallen empires into my own. Thus far, I'm in the stage of technological advancement, which (following my conclusions from my last game) is proceeding extremely well. I don't expect this stage to last much longer, though. Eurasia is already getting tight, so by next week I should be able to report some action.

I do have more in mind than blood-lust. Thinking like an economist, I'm curious to find out what large-scale and long-term conflict will do to the economic growth of my civilization. It could be detrimental, diverting resources that would otherwise go toward growth to the continuation of conquest. However, assuming that I am successful in my conquests, incorporating resources from other empires and bringing them up to speed should swell the imperial coffers. In short, conquest could go either way, helping or hindering economic development. It's a balance, and it will be interesting to see which side of the scales I wind up on.

One final note: This week's reading in Colander talked about growth theories. Of specific interest to me was the new growth theory, which "emphasizes the role of technology rather than capital in the growth process" (Colander 575). This concept and the accompanying discussion on the role of technology in growth supports my conclusions from last week's experiment. And I anticipated this central concept in modern economics! Too bad I don't get points toward my place in history; surely this would elevate me above the level of Dan Quayle, the only person to whom my leaders have ever been compared. . . . This game will be different. Conquest has to at least get you to Nero. . . .

References
Colander, David. Economics. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.