D: I hate graphs, but mostly because I have to draw them. Graphs at least make exponential equations easy, but it's so hard to read them.
Ok basically in vague "not really super accurate terms" / "any real economist would beat me with a stick for this" you plot out the incomes of the people controlled by your government, and the basic cost of living (2000 cal/Day, say 100 ft^2 per person living quarters) and Clothing/Essentials (real essentials, like shoes and forks and tools, not candy and the like) [COL] Try and set your policies to account for income level that 75% of your people have. [p75] Figure out how much it takes to pay for your security (army, police, militia, against any reasonable threat) [Sec$] Figure out how much it takes to pay for your state controlled infrastrucure (dams/piers/roads/walls/etc) [Inf$] So you take [Population]*([P75]-[COL]) = Taxable Income [TI] 1 - (COL / P75) = Maximum Tax Rate [SEC$]+[INF$] = Cost of Government If the cost of governing is greater than the Taxable income you will have to Reduce services or security Increase Taxable Income If the Taxable income is greater than the cost of governance, then you simply need to calculate what percentage of P75's income equals the Cost to govern, not to exceed the Maximum Tax rate. And oh sweet john adams is that vague and oversimplified But using P75 vs P50, should leave you sizable buffer for emergencies such as war time expenses or massive infrastructure projects
I can see why you think this is very simplified, but nonetheless thanks for giving me some help. Having some knowledge is better than having none, though wrong knowledge can lead me astray.
A state can function even without any taxation though if the state control enough resources to get rich out of the trade, Saudi Arabia and several other arab countries is an example of this with their oil.
Like what Aca said, It a good analyze on taxation but there are some few points that should be taken into consideration. (Sorry as I am not specialized in economics, there may be some flaws in what I say.) First is exactly what Aca said, On Medieval age, there wasn't any kind of ONU or human rights, meaning that another country could just invade yours and take everything, or even dominate it. (Which was surprisingly common) So Military power and economy on that age were closely related, the ability of a state to defend itself could make the country richer or poorer, especially because safety is one of the commodities a country can offer to its citizen and merchants and explain a slightly higher tax. ON a side note, I find interesting to comment this: What is Money? Nowadays our money is paper. something that has no "true" value, only "symbolic" Value. It means that how much that money is worth depend on how much "Trust" we can have in the state that printed it. This "Trust" is related to the certain that if you take that money to the govern and ask him the exchange it for gold, he will have enough Gold to pay you back. And that is why the value of currencies on our time can change so fast. But on Middle age things were different. Money were coins made of precious metals. Meaning that the money used at that age wasn't "Symbolic" but held "True" Value. and that mean that there were two points which could make the Currency of a country have more worth or less worth than others... First is also the "Trust" factor... but in a different way... in that age the country that Coined your money could be attacked and dominated by another country... which would make your money almost worthless.... So the more Military power a country has the more "trust" can be given to it, because it's much better to have a coin in which you know that won't lose its worth. The second Factor is the "True" Value. Each state had its own coin, and while they were made out of the same metals, they were different... Each Countries coin had a different size, meaning the amount of Precious metal in each different, and its value would be increased as more metal it has. Example: I have two silver coins. 1- from A country. 2- from Z Country. Both countries have about the same amount of military might. But A country Coin weight 0,40 grams and country Z Coins weight 0,70 grams. That means that country Z Coins have more worth because the amount of silver on it is bigger. That also Impact on the Economics.... because sometimes even if the tax in a country is heavier, its coin can have much more worth, and the profit still be bigger than investing in another country. (PS: I am sorry if the text ended confusing, English is not my native languare and its already late.... so I am sleep XD )
Why did you try hiding this in your signature? 『DCLXVI's, Iampsyx, Yuzuki and Stellarsohye's Sister-in-Law』 『A5G_Reaper's Wife』『LittleFox21's Wife』 『Brasca123's Mother』 『Pyoo's, Shota-kun's and Wolf.Prince's Aunt』
Oh. My computer has a plug-in that inverts most bright colors so I can't read text that have the same color as the surroundings.
Memo no. 2 What is the function of state? The primary function and priority of any and all states (regardless of worldview or moral values) is to provide "security". By security, we mean primarily both political and social security. Political security includes military security, because war and conflict are political instruments on an international geopolitical scale. Social security includes law and justice, because it is human nature to have disagreements, and individual disputes have to be resolved in a way that is agreeable to society's members as a whole. When a state fails to maintain security, it is termed a "failed state". The classic example of a failed state is the Pirate Territory of Somalica. Since its last civil war decades ago, it has lacked a functional central government. Public goods such as infrastructure, domestic police force, or a legal system is not maintained. While a formal government exists in theory, it has been so weak that it barely controls its own capital and exerts little influence. The rest of the country is constantly in flux between regional insurgent groups. Violence can happen almost anywhere, and seemingly at random. There was once a philosopher named Weber who said that a state is characterized by its monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force, also known as the monopoly on violence. Violence, per say, intrinsically is not bad for a state, as it is a tool that many states utilize for control. However, it is critical that it must be ordered violence that has a formula, as opposed to random violence that can strike at any time. War can be described as a kind of random violence, because citizens are not privy to the strategy and the goals of generals in military leadership. When an army descends and razes a town or a city, war does not discriminate between the good and bad people. All civilians suffer. The people who die and the people who survive are more-or-less random. Nonrandom violence, in contrast, is administered by a state or a ruling body. Executions of a criminal a form of ordered violence, and punishment can be avoided from the civilian's perspective by obeying the law of the land. A theme we are developing here is that that security is defined by predictability, not necessarily a lack of violence (or natural disasters such as flooding). If citizens are able to recognize the pattern for adverse events, such as annual flooding of the River, then it is less of a security risk, so long as it remains predictable. Predictability is essential for the typical farmer freeman. If He is to plant a olive tree, how many years of security can he expect that it makes sense to plant this investment? If security is not sufficient, then perhaps it makes more sense to grow turnips instead. Or if it is bad enough here, is it worthwhile to sell the land and attempt to flee somewhere else (answer: not very likely -- the poor are not very mobile unless the situation is bad enough that are willing to become refugees)? A lord must recognize that businesspeople have options available to them. While the typical farmer does not have much mobility, artisans, investors, and merchants can pack up their entire business and move to another country, because their assets are liquid. The policies that a country chooses, as well as the security that a state can provide, are important considerations for people who move in and out of a lord's country. It would be a grave failure if a lord believed that once a person is a citizen/resident, they will always remain a citizen. The boundaries of the playing field is not one's own territory, but the entire map. Lastly, I will discuss the importance of property. When discussing security, is important to extend security to include property in additional to security of persons. Property must remain secure -- or at least, ownership must remain predictable -- otherwise economic security will collapse. If we return to Memo 1 with the Merchant on a trade expedition to Spicica, imagine if the merchant's King heard about this lucrative expedition and became greedy. When the merchant fleet returned, suppose the King came and claimed all of the treasure as from henceforth the property of the King. What are the repercussions of this kind of action? 1) The Merchant experiences a terrible loss (if not financially, also in his time, which he could have spent pursuing other business -- termed "opportunity cost") and is gravely upset. 2) Other entrepreneurs and merchants hear about this horrific story and consider whether it is a good idea build their fortunes in this country where a King will blatantly confiscate property outside of the pre-existing agreement. If I am a tea trader, perhaps I might consider going to a different country (perhaps the rival enemy country) that is more friendly to trade to establish my business, and this King will lose my tax revenue. The moral of this story is that wealth is in the "goose" the lays golden eggs, not the golden egg itself. The most valuable form of treasure that a country might have is its people, and since sufficiently resourced people can always find a way to escape an oppressive country, a strong country is one that can attract and maintain the talents of the world.
@yuzuki any tips for these 2 things creating a good calendar in a fully fantasy world (so think a tensei/isekai world, but without the whole reincarnation/goddess/truck-sama bullshit), particularly with a good prologue that builds up the past events of the world, without doing too much info dump keeping to writing the story, I tried to write a novel a few months ago and...well...you know....I wrote like 3 huge notepads of plot points to write about and then here we are, with only 1 chapter written XD
Necromancy secret technique!!!! Ancient thread summoning!!!! *whoosh* *waves hands* Memo no. 3 "Less is more!" ^ You may have heard this famous saying applied to many things in the past, but I think this sort of philosophy is especially true when it comes to questions along the lines posed by @xTachibana. People may disagree with me, but as a general rule when writing stories, I think it's best not to invent too many fantasy words or technical features like calendars, religious pantheons, etc. While it can be really fun to get carried away with the background lore, I frankly think it is in the best interest of most writers to resist the urge to explain everything! There's one major reason for this. The process of writing a story isn't the same as world-building! Even if they may seem like superficially similar things (they're both a creative activity that involves writing and making ideas, right?), they are actually very different. It is a huge mistake to approach writing a novel/story like you are world-building, and I see this happen a lot with casual writers. You will get bogged down in details, and your story will lose focus on its central themes and ultimately end up messy. For this reason, I'm going to spend this memo talking about the differences between story-writing and world-building. Let's start with the objectives of each genre. + + + The objective of world-building is to create a entire world. Ideally, the world that you create should be internally realistic (meaning it seems realistic to you!), and most world-builders adore the idea of fictional universe that is living and breathing and as compelling as our own. Basically, the objective is to create something as detailed as the entire Earth itself. The process of making a world is filled with footnotes and minute random details that probably don't mean anything other than make the world appear more internally realistic. If we were to make an analogy to painting, world-building is a bit like a "Where's Waldo" painting. It's filled with random details, but there's no focus to the painting. Earth (and real-life) is a bit like this too. There are no convenient narratives or stories in real life. Reality is much messier than a fictional story, and the random details of real life actually get in the way of turning an uncut video-recording of your life into an interesting story. A "Where's Waldo" painting isn't exactly pretty to look at, right? + + + So what is a story then? In contrast to world-building (and reality), the objective of story-writing is to package a set of ideas into the perfectly wrapped christmas present. Basically, a story is a like a song. If you go on youtube and look up any old song, unless you're into really weird stuff, your song probably has a clear theme and melody and conveys a set of discrete ideas and feelings. Your song (story) probably looks more like this: Than this (world-building): Frankly, you song will sound bad if you try to write a story like you are world-building. Please don't do it. Nobody likes to look at a powerpoint slide with too much text. Even though it might be fun to make, it's a pain to read. "Inspired by a true story" fiction is literally made by cutting away extraneous detail from a real life Earth event to make it extra beautiful when presented in story form. It is essential to cut away content that doesn't support the main themes or ideas that you aim to convey in your story. Fantasy fiction honestly follows the same rules. Even if you have the fantasy universe in your head, don't show all your cards! Limit the amount of information to what is strictly necessary for the story, and the effect will be far better. Instead of being knocked over in the face with a massive "Where's Waldo" painting in the Prologue of a 900-page novel, be tactful and wrap that nice pretty christmas present for your reader: + + + Okay so what does this mean with regards to calendars and fantasy stuff? Here are my personal opinions: A) Limit the amount of words that you make up. Even though it might be cool and Tolkein-esque to invent a language, please save that kind of stuff for after you become popular. Have you ever read a Chinese novel and found that you can't keep the character names apart from each other? Well yeah -- if you introduce too many, it's literally impossible for a reader to remember them all unless they're a super hard-core fan of your series. Since you're not tolkein, it basically means that you don't have hard-core fans so don't force your readers to read an alien language! Suleias shone on Jiashozt's back as the Titalton came closer, their nails dragging against the ground. Jiashozt's showa covered his hair but Jiashozt could still feel the heat from Suleias as they waited underneath the foliage. The Titalton moved forward while the wereseller's salavan nightwalkers trotted in the dried mud. The line of Titalton led back to the end of the forest but the servhas still wanted to hit the salavan. The enemy couldn't be allowed to receive these supplies and they couldn't allow their supplies to be taken. The servhas gave a curt nod from the other side and Jiashozt crawled back out of the foliage to signal the rangers in the trees. A silent quip was heard as the bladestones flew inwards and small thud noises as the bodies they flew into dropped dead into the ground. The first wingforce was taken care of but there were still several wingforces behind them. The servhas ran out in front of the wereseller's salavan and directed them to ride into the makeshift path that they had lain out. The salavan bolted with speed and the bladearchers above hopped from tree to tree to keep up with it as the escaped. The second wingforce was closing in and Jiashozt heard their battle cries as they saw their fallen comrades. "El'sur Galahaehadeanus!!!!" The serhas bellowed. If your only reason to make up fantasy words for everything is to sound cool, don't be so chuuni and just say it normally! Honestly nobody else thinks it's cool except the author! B) Show, don't tell! You've probably heard this advice a billion times, but there should be absolutely no reason why you need to "tell" if you can "show". This applies to worldbuilding details as well! Show things in action rather than depending on text-dumps to describe everything. Bad: Better: C) Readers are smart, so let them use their brain Don't explain everything. Trust that the readers will pick up on the things you don't tell them. Readers like it when they feel smart, so feed it to them and they'll think your novel is amazing because eventually they pick up on a sub-themes and sub-ideas that weren't blatantly on the surface. If you explain everything, basically you take all the magic away. In art, negative space is really important, so learn how to get good at using it! You can convey a lot of information by not-conveying it, so it's an extremely important skill. Anyhow, that's what pops off of the top of my head right now. I hope this wasn't too boring of a read???
Shoot. You beat me in that. I was planning on making a post about exposition, but I don't think I can top this DX Wonderfully written and structured.
Memo no. 4 This is a much more ambitious post since I'm not an economist, but I'll try my best anyways! Today's topic is: "How to have a strong economy for dummies", transmigrated to another world edition~. + + + This lesson starts with a history lesson on mercantilism. A long time ago, European countries believed the best way to have a strong economy was to basically have lots of gold. I mean this makes a lot of sense, right? Because typically we think strong economy = lots of money. It's like pure common sense that's intuitive to an elementary school child. In the old days, it didn't matter how you got lots of gold. As long as you had more gold at the end of the day than you started, you were considered to have a "good" economy. This gave rise to the golden rule: sell more than you buy (aka export more than you import), which was basically the fundamental tenant of the entire mercantilist period. One way countries/kingdoms accomplished this was by discouraging their citizens from buying foreign goods by placing high import tariffs, which drove up the prices on foreign products. Famously, some mercantalist countries (particularly Spain) were able to mine lots and LOTS of gold and silver, thinking naively that more money = better. Spanish treasure fleets hauled over thousands of tons of gold and silver from the recently discovered New World, and by the turn of the century, 80% of the world's silver was coming from Latin America (400% increase in supply!). However, Europe completely unprepared for the inflation that the Spanish Treasure Fleets brought. Between 1500 and 1650 AD, prices in Europe rose by 500%; in other words, a loaf of bread was five times more expensive in 1650 than in 1500. In a premodern era where inflation was basically unheard of, this rate of inflation was insane and had many negative effects. If you hid a $100 dollar bill into a treasure chest in 1500 (saving money!), by 1650, that money was now only worth $20. People's lifelong savings were destroyed by inflation. The discovery of inflation (by accident) completely revolutionized economic theory. + + + The point of going through the history lesson was to demonstrate that possessing more money does not equal strong economy. Imagine that you are the king of a village of twenty people. On average, every citizen possesses $100 dollars, and the price of bread is $1 per loaf. Now, imagine that you as a king suddenly have $20,000 that you somehow obtained by extorting people from the outside world. If you are a generous king and decided to freely redistribute that money to your people ($1000 per citizen), how does that change the economy of your village? Answer: Absolutely no change. Now, every citizen posses $1100 dollars, and the price of bread has naturally risen to $11 per loaf. The farmer will continue to farm wheat, and the baker will continue to bake bread. Your citizens work no faster or slower, and since they buy and sell from each other, the prices in the village will adjust to fairly reflect the work done by the people in your society. + + + Money was invented by humans as a simpler, more convenient way to perform bartering. In the ancient days, two people would agree that two cows are equivalent in value to 200 loafs of bread, and they would each bring their respective goods and perform the trade. However, it was awfully inconvenient to haul around cows and hundreds of loaves of bread with you when you went shopping for groceries, so money was invented as convenient way to trade with other people using much smaller symbols that were easy to carry around. Clearly the best objects to use as money are rare and small, and often they are valueless in themselves (e.g. a pretty rock). However, it is critical to represent that money is merely a symbol, and at its core, it's merely a proxy for the underlying bartering economy that causes the world to circulate. To be continued.........