ajqtrz
Chef - loquacious Old Dog
Mike is a trader. Mack is a sea captain. Mike trades iron for various things and Mack steers the ship upon which Mike and a whole bunch of other traders live, trading things.
In the far distance is a bay called "Prosperity Bay." Mack's job is to steer the ship into that bay so that in it's smooth waters traders can trade without being tossed "too and fro," which is what happens when the sea is rough and unpredictable.
Now Mike wants to make a profit and Mack wants to get the ship where to where it needs to go. Mike is "micro-econmics" and Mack is "macro-economics," in case you haven't figured it out. Here's a typical 'day' in their lives.
Mike wakes up and discovers that there's a great buy on the port side of the ship. Tons and tons of iron at a really, really cheap price. So he scurries over and negotiates a price, finds a shipper to move the iron and soon the iron is on the starboard side. (Port=Left when facing the bow of the ship, Starboard=Right, btw) So now that iron is on the starboard side. Which is not a problem unless ALL the iron on the ship shows up on the starboard side. Then the ship lists (tips) and Mac will have a very difficult time getting it to Prosperity Bay. What to do?
Since the Captain has to charge for running the ship (government) he can use one of two strategies to keep the ship running toward Prosperity Bay. He can ask the traders to move things where they need to be. So he does. He asks Mike to move his iron to the lower holds (down deeper in the ship which means the ship sails with more stability) But of course, if it costs Mike more to move his iron down into the lower holds he's not going to do that willingly. After all, it's not his job to run the ship, that's Mack's job. So Mack, being a smart captain, uses his ability to charge more for things stored on the starboard side and raises the cost of moving the iron there to the point where it's cheaper for Mike to move it into the lower holds. This is, in essence, a form of taxation. Or he might give a bonus to Mike for doing so. Maybe Mike wants a specific spot where he can set up his iron shop because he can sell more there than his current location on the ship. Whatever Captain Mack controls he can use to encourage Mike to move the iron to where Mack wants it. Incentives can be many. Thus, Mack, as the "government" can ask and if that doesn't work, use the carrot (Incentives) or the stick (taxes and regulations).
The overall thing about it is that Mike isn't concerned with where the ship goes because it's not his job. Mack is concerned with where the ship goes and only tangentially concerned with if Mike makes a profit or not. Mack is concerned with steering the ship and studies the sea (the economic environment around the ship), the weather (the current events and how they impact things on the ship), the charts (economic theories) and so forth. Mike studies his accounts (for profit and loss), asset management (where what he has is located in the ship and how it's value is effected with that location), and how what Mack does effects those things.
In other words, the study of economics is the study of two goals. How Mike makes a profit or losses his shirt and how Mack steers the ship and how he keeps it going, hopefully, in the right direction.
Now, in case you are wondering, if all this applies to the game we are playing, not surprisingly, it does. The devs are Mack and are steering the game toward Prosperity Bay. They study and understand how various aspects of the game determine if they are heading toward "Prosperity Bay" or not. We are Mike. We each look at our experience and determine if playing the game is "profitable" enough for us. We seldom consider the overall direction of the game except in how it affects us and our play because that, in general, is not our job. The devs have to consider our "profit" of course, or we "jump ship," but in general if it was our misery that brought them into Prosperity Bay, in the long run we'd get misery. It's not their job to see to it we are "profitable," unless our lack of "profit" means we "jump ship." Each of us has a focus or job we do and that is the same distinction between us and the game as between micro and macro economics.
Anyway, that's how I see it, roughly speaking. (I could be wrong of course....right? LOL)
AJ
In the far distance is a bay called "Prosperity Bay." Mack's job is to steer the ship into that bay so that in it's smooth waters traders can trade without being tossed "too and fro," which is what happens when the sea is rough and unpredictable.
Now Mike wants to make a profit and Mack wants to get the ship where to where it needs to go. Mike is "micro-econmics" and Mack is "macro-economics," in case you haven't figured it out. Here's a typical 'day' in their lives.
Mike wakes up and discovers that there's a great buy on the port side of the ship. Tons and tons of iron at a really, really cheap price. So he scurries over and negotiates a price, finds a shipper to move the iron and soon the iron is on the starboard side. (Port=Left when facing the bow of the ship, Starboard=Right, btw) So now that iron is on the starboard side. Which is not a problem unless ALL the iron on the ship shows up on the starboard side. Then the ship lists (tips) and Mac will have a very difficult time getting it to Prosperity Bay. What to do?
Since the Captain has to charge for running the ship (government) he can use one of two strategies to keep the ship running toward Prosperity Bay. He can ask the traders to move things where they need to be. So he does. He asks Mike to move his iron to the lower holds (down deeper in the ship which means the ship sails with more stability) But of course, if it costs Mike more to move his iron down into the lower holds he's not going to do that willingly. After all, it's not his job to run the ship, that's Mack's job. So Mack, being a smart captain, uses his ability to charge more for things stored on the starboard side and raises the cost of moving the iron there to the point where it's cheaper for Mike to move it into the lower holds. This is, in essence, a form of taxation. Or he might give a bonus to Mike for doing so. Maybe Mike wants a specific spot where he can set up his iron shop because he can sell more there than his current location on the ship. Whatever Captain Mack controls he can use to encourage Mike to move the iron to where Mack wants it. Incentives can be many. Thus, Mack, as the "government" can ask and if that doesn't work, use the carrot (Incentives) or the stick (taxes and regulations).
The overall thing about it is that Mike isn't concerned with where the ship goes because it's not his job. Mack is concerned with where the ship goes and only tangentially concerned with if Mike makes a profit or not. Mack is concerned with steering the ship and studies the sea (the economic environment around the ship), the weather (the current events and how they impact things on the ship), the charts (economic theories) and so forth. Mike studies his accounts (for profit and loss), asset management (where what he has is located in the ship and how it's value is effected with that location), and how what Mack does effects those things.
In other words, the study of economics is the study of two goals. How Mike makes a profit or losses his shirt and how Mack steers the ship and how he keeps it going, hopefully, in the right direction.
Now, in case you are wondering, if all this applies to the game we are playing, not surprisingly, it does. The devs are Mack and are steering the game toward Prosperity Bay. They study and understand how various aspects of the game determine if they are heading toward "Prosperity Bay" or not. We are Mike. We each look at our experience and determine if playing the game is "profitable" enough for us. We seldom consider the overall direction of the game except in how it affects us and our play because that, in general, is not our job. The devs have to consider our "profit" of course, or we "jump ship," but in general if it was our misery that brought them into Prosperity Bay, in the long run we'd get misery. It's not their job to see to it we are "profitable," unless our lack of "profit" means we "jump ship." Each of us has a focus or job we do and that is the same distinction between us and the game as between micro and macro economics.
Anyway, that's how I see it, roughly speaking. (I could be wrong of course....right? LOL)
AJ