So, about Authoritarian Empires.... (based on info from stream)

[BlackUmbrellas]

Then by your own definition, slaves (wheter wage or classical) do have poorer standart of living then a non-slave. Wich is represented by the Unity cost and mineral cost of consuemr goods right now. That mechanics might change. We have to see how important Unity is in actually play.

I'm not sure why you're telling me this- I haven't been arguing mechanics.

 

[The Founder]

I view the way the game uses it as a reference to sci-fi works that tend to have slaver empires as the bad guys. So I agree that the economics of slavery on the scale present in Stellaris is kind of silly realistically speaking, particularly with interstellar societies which should be able to adapt a more profitable model, but the rule of cool makes it a thing that's just plain fun to have in the game. Slaver empires just make such good bad guys to fight against and are so obviously evil the game would be more dull without them.

Actually with consumer goods in the mix, it might make sense again.

zero gravity gangsters (microgravity marauders?)

Floating Felons?

 

[Barnacle Bill]

That is impossible. You only ever make slave armies after you have the tech and processing capacity to put neural Implants into thier brains. All thier brains. (wich is still a whole lot less then the entire population of a planet).
All slaveholders are way aware that slave armies would be dumb idea otherwise

Slave armies existed in history, and they were not made with neural implants but by raising the particular slaves from early childhood in the barracks (and no I don't mean the Spartans, who were raising their citizens that way to control the helots).
The reason for it was as an alternative for the monarch to relying on troops loyal to lower level leaders that might not be loyal to him.
I can't think of an example where they sided with a slave revolt, but in one case took over the government and ruled the country for centuries (Egyptian Mamluks), and in another formed an independent power block in the internal politics of the state (Ottoman Janissaries). So, yes, a bad idea in the big picture but not without precedent.

 

[Wizzington]

Let's keep this thread focused on Sterllaris politics. Comparisons to history is fine, but head to OT if you want to debate RL politics.

 

[vyshan]

@Wiz If I want to play a peaceful Enlightened Monarchy, why would I be locked out of giving my subjects utopian lifestyle. Since I assume that the Enlightened Monarchy can't be taken with Egalitarian and thus no utopian lifestyle for my empire.

 

[The Founder]

@Wiz If I want to play a peaceful Enlightened Monarchy, why would I be locked out of giving my subjects utopian lifestyle. Since I assume that the Enlightened Monarchy can't be taken with Egalitarian and thus no utopian lifestyle for my empire.

Actually a recent study indicated that econmic tough times (wich I asume affects personal wellbeing/life circumstances) does affect conformism. I could see the collectivist guys trying to use that by intetionalyl keeping it at wellfare levels:
http://survivingtheworld.net/Lesson2976.html

Also Utopian might be a goal/factor for the Individualist Factions to gain traction.