Communism (& Socialism) in RPGs

[Shortman McLeod]

Most of the games out there are pseudo-medieval fantasies. Communism calls for an industrial base that the games don't have.

Marxist-Leninist Communism, yes.

Maoist Communism, no.

 

[GSHamster]

That's a good find. The presence of socialist/communist societies in fantasy literature shows that, even if it would be economically unreasonable, it is not impossible from a narrative point of view. But I'm going academic here.

On the other hand, that specific example is pretty much a strawman for the Goodkind to "prove" that capitalism is better.

(I'm as big a fan of capitalism as anyone, but really, turning all your communists into murdering rapists just to show how bad the system is, that's cheating.)

 

[Nifft]

Villages small enough to use "Town Hall" style political decision making could be viewed as ideal Communist societies. And with D&D magic, they could be viable.

Cheers, -- N

 

[pawsplay]

Communism doesn't require industry. The development of class consciousness and the uprising does. To Marx, at least, communism was a return to humanity's original state; industrious, connected to himself and his community. Many hunter-gatherer societies are effectively communist forms, as private property does not exist as such. Plato advocated communal living for his guardians. The family unit is essentially communistic, with the parents working according to their ability, and the children receiving according to their need.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Communism in RPGs: You have two cows. The government tries to take both. The government fails their grapple check. Roll for initiative.

Cute...

Actually, I'm running a homebrew that has a communist society. The entire country is a single surviving city-state from a pretty devastating war. The only reason they are communists is it is the only way to survive their current situation.

Things to consider - true communism is a form of social interaction, not a true form of government or economic model, though both aspects are required parts therein to make it work. Communism is not Marxism nor Leninist, nor Stalinist - they are sub forms of communism; rule without religion, rule without central government, and dictatorial central state rule. True Socialism requires that all parts are equal, including the leaders... This is why fantasy has so few communists, what's a king or queen without patsies to rule over?

As far as I know of, there are no perfect communist societies portrayed by fantasy settings (just as there are no perfect communist societies in the world). But with a little work, it shouldn't be hard to pull one off, just remember that several aspects of feudal Europe will have to be left by the roadside in order to get it to work correctly.

 

[hong]

I think the primary danger here is becoming fixated on analyzing merely the settings of RPGs, while neglecting the other aspects of RPGs in play.

As an example of what I mean, consider the Marxist maxim "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." It is relatively easy, and relatively unrewarding, to consider only the in-game history of the setting in light of the class struggle. It is much more revealing, in my opinion, to consider the play of the game itself, the actions of the players and their consequences, in terms of the class struggle.

In play, do the player characters most resemble members of the proletariat, or the bourgeoisie? Does membership in these classes change over time? Does play consist primarily of the player characters repressing the lumpenproletariat?

I'm a multiclassed bourgeious borgieous buorgeios bourgeois/proletarian.

 

[Mardoc Redcloak]

Can anyone else think of the communism, socialism, Bolshevism, totalitarian socialism, anti-consumerist anarcho-syndicalism in RPGs?

The Blackfoot Society in Kingdoms of Kalamar?

Basically an anti-monarchist organization whose ultimate goals have a definite anarchist and communist tinge.

 

[Mardoc Redcloak]

Marxist-Leninist Communism, yes.

Maoist Communism, no.

Not to mention the variety of forms of pre-Marxist socialism.

 

[GVDammerung]

I seem to recall that the dwarves of the Chainmail! game that WotC released were communists. I never actually had the game, so I'm not certain how accurate this is, however.

This is correct and the "best" example I can think of. In play, communist dwarves in an otherwise pseudo-medieval fantasy setting break the proscenium arch into smithereens. Pass.

 

[The Shaman]

I should have been clearer. The question I was asking was only for communism (or something similar) in settings. This is (mostly) separate from a Marxist analysis of RPGs. The commodification of elements within the game and of rule sets gives more than enough for this analysis. (The wealth rules in d20 Modern are fantastic!)

I'd be interested in reading that analysis.

On-topic: in my HB 3.0 setting, I created a deity of the harvest and crafts, whose holy symbol was a hammer-and-sickle - many of the tenets of the religion were borrowed from Communism.