Poll: If you had the ability to take over the world would you?
- Thread starter Epicspoon
- Start date
I wouldn't want to necessarily want to take over the world, but more so find a way to keep humans in check.
This means having some way to help future generations achieve their goals without fear or danger of those who would seek to harm them while at the same time taking power away from those who set out to cause pain, destruction, and fear (i.e. drug cartels, terrorists, organized crime, etc.).
I still say a large army of androids with sophisticated AI and technology is the way to go.
This means having some way to help future generations achieve their goals without fear or danger of those who would seek to harm them while at the same time taking power away from those who set out to cause pain, destruction, and fear (i.e. drug cartels, terrorists, organized crime, etc.).
I still say a large army of androids with sophisticated AI and technology is the way to go.
No idea how I'd do it, maybe build a gundam. As to what I would do, it's quite a list. A few changes to the economy to support small business, a few changes in tax law for said same, as well as to place much more of the tax burden on the rich through a graduated VAT tax. Probably rebuild the governments of every nation for more efficiency and less corruption.. Then I have a few radical programs that would take far too long to explain here. Then I would cede greater authority to local governments and ensure that a great many individual rights were universally protected. Lastly, build myself a nice place to live, location undisclosed, give myself a good sum of money for my retirement.
Definitely, because of a belief that a world according to me would be better for everyone than what is currently in place. Before I do anything else, I gather the greatest minds for their input where they are willing, which will factor into all of my decisions. But barring objection, I'd start with the real obvious things - social and medical reform and access to food and water in most 3rd world countries, incentivise researching and buying into solar power, environmental policies to address climate change, space exploration to become a priority, invest in superconductors and put fibre internet everywhere in Australia at least (I'm a little salty). I'd also have my fun - net neutrality set in stone, FROM Software to make an Armored Core game on my specifications, all religious groups opposing things like stem cell research, abortion and teaching evolution to be disbanded, in fact any group opposing something for stupid reasons disbanded after a scientific evaulation of their reasoning, and mandatory testing by an impartial scientific body of any paranormal claims made for commercial gain (except for suspension of disbelief of course. I'm mainly targeting psychics and Feng Shui practitioners, etc.), invest in genetic engineering for humans to address only serious, unambiguously horrible genetic disorders, force Google to change Youtube back to not requiring G+ and allowing decent channel art rather than the tripe there is now, changes affecting the availability of games on platforms and the legality of some pricing models. Marijuana would be legalised and cigarettes would stop being produced and the last would be sold, and jail systems to undergo serious overhaul including severe reduction of jail times and laws changed according to my own morality.
See, I believe strongly in a lot of high ideals, but were I to have the power, I probably wouldn't implement them. If I'm a worker ant I want everything to be fair and equitable and to have my say. If I were in charge of the world I want everything to be the best it can be without pointless distractions.
As for how, I'd go through the political system and just say whatever I want knowing I'll get elected higher, and see if the people would have loved an honest politician anyway.
See, I believe strongly in a lot of high ideals, but were I to have the power, I probably wouldn't implement them. If I'm a worker ant I want everything to be fair and equitable and to have my say. If I were in charge of the world I want everything to be the best it can be without pointless distractions.
As for how, I'd go through the political system and just say whatever I want knowing I'll get elected higher, and see if the people would have loved an honest politician anyway.
I'd do it in a heartbeat. The first order of business would be stockpiling as many measures as I could get away with to keep myself in power and keep the rest of the world accountable to me. I will make sure the whole world knows this.
And then I would implement absolutely no leadership changes whatsoever. Honestly, I just want to see how the governments of the world act once they realize all their actions are accountable to a higher authority. C'mon guys, get your crap together.
And then I would implement absolutely no leadership changes whatsoever. Honestly, I just want to see how the governments of the world act once they realize all their actions are accountable to a higher authority. C'mon guys, get your crap together.
There's a Baron Wulfenbach you might want to talk to...ClockworkPenguin said:
*Shameless Girl Genius plug*
To Op: No. Hell no. I mean, the job would require huge amounts of micro-managing, since I'd have to work around the clock either giving attention to the little guys or finding someone to do it for me. And if I pawn all the details off on advisors, then it becomes a question of making sure they aren't corrupt/cruel/planning to kill me. There's also the mater of subjective morality and cultural relativism - if I try to make things "better" for others, that brings up the question of what "better" is and do I only think it's better for them because I personally enjoy it or because it's actually better. And assuming I genuinely am improving lives for the better, someone somewhere - perhaps even a lot of someones somewhere - are gonna be pissy about that and try to take me out, or rebel, or something. Not to mention there's a LOT of potential for error here, and a lot of people who will be effected if it goes wrong. If, say Canada screws something up in how it conducts it's government, well, the only people who have to really worry about that are Canadians. But if Canada ruled the whole world? ...Well, in addition to being commendably polite, the world would be pretty screwed if Canada, say, converted to communism, or became a corrupt state, suffered a massive economic failure.
So, it'd probably end up with me hating life but slogging through it out of the obligation I have to the seven billion people depending on me, all of whom live in a homogenized "culture" of an autocratic state where the citizenship is probably cowed into obeying with fear and weaponry after that one country rebelled because they decided they didn't like my economic model or whatever. And this is assuming the power doesn't go to my head, or that I get assassinated right off and the power goes to my successor's head. Or the position of "world leader" is so coveted that the new one is usurped only for their usurper to soon be usurped, and their usurper to usurped, perpetually, on and on in a constant state of coup and counter-coup like that one episode of Futurama with the water aliens. It's just... that's putting an awful lot of eggs in one basket.
EDIT: ... A lot of posts in here seem to be thinking about what they would do if they had complete autocratic control over America/The Western World rather than the world in it's entirety. I mean, a lot of these norms people would implement, while they sound like good things to us, would piss off a lot of people who don't share the same history and cultural background as you. I'm not even talking about the "Reform social laws to stop discrimination," more the posts that talk about how they'd try to debunk or inhibit religious practices and groups or people who believe in the supernatural. To Western audiences, saying "I'd stop stupid mediums from scamming people out of their money" seems like a good idea. To someone who's culture heavily revolves around such things, though... that'd be quite a big change. Perhaps too big a change.
Try to keep that in mind, if there are any future supreme rulers in here. Not everyone thinks and believes as you do, and that's not always a bad thing.
I get the sensation of setting up a game of Civilization V on difficulty of 1...Epicspoon said:
If it was a forgone conclusion, than I'll skip to the part that I care about; Governing.
Constitutional Autocratic Indirect Representative Democracy.
Establish a constitution that declares you the sole ruler for all of time (this is fantastic, right? So I'll just say I live forever then). Being that I would be the sole ruler, my first decree would be to establish ever smaller bodies of governance (i.e. federal vs state vs county vs city vs township, etc.) based upon land area and population density (similar to US House vs Senate), then define a legal system like that of the US/UK with descending but separate jurisdictions (like the US Federal Courts). States would be subject to Federal law as local law is subject to state law and so on. The representation of the people within the state would be done like the House/Senate is now on a more local level. The main policies of the Federal Government would be to decide the best course of action for all human beings and thus scientific exploration and advancement would be paramount. Individual cultures and beliefs would be respected and none made more important than any other in terms of representation or discrimination, still based upon head count. Space exploration and the development of an interplanetary human race would be the primary goal of the country, and thus, the species.
Actually an autocratic government is a solid way of dictating how policy is created, even if you were to give your citizens freedom within that sandbox. All governments are basically sandboxes of civility, so it's up to either 1.) society to keep everyone in check, or 2.) a systematic way of dealing with dissenters and contrarians while still keeping the bulk of your people satisfied. The main problem with government, IMO, is the corruption aspect of it, so if you were to be ruler anyway without any type of challenge to your power then I would have an absolute government with absolute rules with the same type of judicial system the US has, basically instilling power down the legal pipeline. I would also have a state-system like that of the US, or territories like that of Canada and the governing would be the same as it is now, but only along the lines of accepted policy from me.jademunky said:
Just for clarity, I want to make it known that I spend a great deal of time playing Civilization V and most of my views are based upon a similar type of extreme dictatorship that you get in the game, being the sole ruler for all of your civilizations history/future.