Business Cycles

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When playing EU, for example, I never really had any sense of business cycles occurring.

What, have you forgotten those "exceptional year" events!!!

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Originally posted by Tambourmajor
What the game should model is the actual reason behind establishing colonies: Because the capitalists (most notably colonial investors) wanted them, because they wanted the government to take actions to not only protect their investments, but also to back up their own private interests, preferably with gunboats and bayonets.

IMHO, this was very rarely the reason behind colonial expansion. The only example that even comes close to this that I can think of would be the British intervention in Egypt in 1882, although even that had as much to do with Great Power politics & strategy than the protection of investments.

It is actually ironic - during this time period, the most ardent supporters of laissez-faire economics & a downsized government that does not intervene in the marketplace were also the most hostile to imperialism (see Cobden & Bright).