Questions tagged [economy]
For questions regarding wealth, trade, or financial concepts.
716
questions
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1answer
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How would aliens abduct an entire nation of millions from a planet?
I am looking for as hard science answers as possible, but I am willing to bend some rules for a good answer.
Assume they need to move 10 million 100 million people off of a planet
what technology ...
1
vote
3answers
77 views
Attempting to Cripple Society while Preserving Biosphere
Asking for a project that's floated in and out of my head for the past few years.
I'm desiring to create a scenario where human society is globally affected - not wiped out, not even Mad-Maxed, but ...
4
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3answers
156 views
How would Instant communication affect early Civilization Economy
There are three stones that allow basically instant communication. The brighter the stones the clearer the message. A brownish red stone wouldn't be as good as a bright red one. The way these stones ...
1
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2answers
123 views
What is a feasible timeframe for a super-reactor to obsolete all other energy sources?
A super-reactor was created by SRE, Inc (Super Reactor Energy), and it can provide as much clean energy as needed. There's no way to copy it or make another. It operates without problem or fuel - ...
2
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1answer
137 views
One half of my population was eliminated. How do I restore them without causing havoc? [closed]
A few years back, the Evil Overlord magicked away half of the world population - they were effectively locked away in time, for all intents and purposes. Then, against all odds, the Super Team was ...
0
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2answers
88 views
If a mayor were to find his city was about to be razed to the ground, who would he appeal to? [closed]
Let's imagine a scenario, where, in a dystopic industrial society, a mayor of a medium-sized city learns that his city is about to be destroyed by some powerful force within the bureaucracy of his ...
0
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1answer
89 views
Medieval City Region Economic Model
In the attached diagram, the grid on the left side shows several layers from my world-building project. Each square represents a 4x4 sq km (2.5x2.5 sq miles) area.
Layer 1: Terrain, showing the ...
4
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3answers
232 views
Basket of goods in SF
I'm creating a SF-cyberpunk universe. The action is set somewhere in 3600, 1600 years after today. Humanity has colonized several hundred star systems around Milky Way. Even thought there was no ...
2
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3answers
167 views
How would a new planet join an intergalactic united nations and economy? [closed]
Wordy title, heh. Say a new planet gains access to spacefaring capabilities comparable to that of what exists in some galaxy or galactic cluster. And in that galaxy or cluster, there's a body akin to ...
5
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4answers
133 views
How much tribute can a dragon get away with?
Okay, here's a classic situation:
The countryside is plagued by a dragon, who demands tribute from the local city on the basis of them being in his territory.
Now, the dragon here doesn't actually ...
4
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6answers
2k views
How big should my particular military be under post-apocalyptic conditions?
So some background so that you’re caught up:
In the world that I’m working on now, in 2005, the deadliest plague in history struck the world. The Black Flu as it was called caused havoc and ...
9
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24answers
5k views
How can I explain a continent with extremely un-equal progress between its nations?
A long-running concept I have for my fantasy continent of Diggoran is its isolated and unequalized technological and industrial progress.
By ''isolated progress'' I refer to the fact that Diggoran's ...
5
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8answers
254 views
Why is there a cap on magical currency despite unlimited magic power?
Set in the modern day, only a small portion of the population is aware of magic and some of them has unlocked their innate magic potential at a young age. There is a governing body that ensure fair ...
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1answer
119 views
Can superpowers come to exist without wars of expansion? [closed]
Our world is surrounded by a magic barrier that keeps out eldritch abominations that exist in the void, such as Cthulhu. However, this barrier is fairly sensitive and easily damaged. The violent, ...
5
votes
3answers
534 views
Could a waiting list be used as a monetary system in a post-scarcity society?
I'm writing a futuristic sci-fi story that takes place in a mostly post-scarcity economy. Resources are abundant, and no one needs to work for basic necessities or luxuries. Robots do all manual labor,...
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1answer
128 views
Can Communism become a stable economic strategy? How? (Update) [closed]
Inspired by this question, I'd like to re-review if Communism can ever become a stable form of government.
To help restrict the scope of this question, please allow me to add the following ...
2
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5answers
170 views
Why would anyone buy zombies? [closed]
In the shady city of Tarahan, ruled by the Cult of Carmine Heptagram, you can experience all sorts of arcane oddities, like hooded wraiths phasing through the buildings, stray imps being treated like ...
4
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4answers
233 views
How can a nation today become a super power without any nuclear programme?
I suspect being economically strong and independent aren't enough to become a super power in today world, I realised that US is slowly losing it's grip as a super power after it starts shifting focus ...
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1answer
126 views
Creating a convincing mafia? [closed]
I am currently in the process of creating my own world for an upcoming RPG, in a Victorian Era/Industrial Revolution/Steam Age setting. It's not overly steampunk but light elements of it are ...
5
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6answers
323 views
What can I profitably manufacture with a large amount of electricity but minimal infrastructure?
It's twenty minutes in the future, and farmers across the 'big countries' (USA, Australia, etc) are facing a new scourge: light poachers. Every summer hordes of self-driving trucks crash into fields ...
3
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4answers
193 views
Why would a technologically advance space-faring civilization still use physical currency?
In this world human civilization has reached the stars and now spans across multiple galaxies. Technological advancements such as neural implants, FTL travel, and FTL internet access are ubiquitous ...
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14answers
3k views
Ideas for medieval currency [closed]
D&D and many similar fantasy settings use a (perhaps unrealistically) simple system of currency consisting of silver and gold pieces. (These are, of course, roughly analogous to pence and ...
0
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2answers
75 views
How might a multi-backed commodity currency work?
I have three post apocalypse tribes who each produce different goods, let's say black beans (protein dominant), potatoes (carb dominant), and vegetable oil (fat dominant). They're unifying into a ...
6
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3answers
181 views
Woodpunk World- 'Super Wood' developed in the mid-late 19th century?
So, here's the premise- in this alternate 'woodpunk' historical timeline, primarily focused upon Japan, someone stumbles across this development far earlier on, in the mid to late 19th century (as ...
6
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7answers
194 views
In a world where magic is common, how can an economy be protected from magical counterfeiting and transmutation? [closed]
Say it's a world where most people are at least aware that magic exists, and that some magicians can do things that would destabilize a real-world economy. How would economists, legislators, and law-...
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5answers
161 views
In a more advanced society that experiences incursions by monsters, do you think weapons such as guns would cost more or less the same as our society?
I'm in the middle of creating my own role-play game set in a fantasy/sci-fi setting where the society is attacked fairly regular by monsters and the like; Due to this I'm having trouble with the ...
4
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10answers
429 views
Why would currency retain value even after the kingdom that originally minted them is now gone
The land of Vau was once dominated by the Queens of the "Old Kingdom". The currency of the old kingdom was known as the "Argen". The Argen was minted in silver, bronze, and iron varieties. However The ...
asked Nov 13 '19 at 3:55
Celestial Dragon Emperor
10.2k4 gold badges36 silver badges79 bronze badges
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0answers
339 views
How to make my matriarchal society more realistic [closed]
So I am playing with idea of fantasy matriarchal society. I want it to be realistic and coherent. This is what I have so far:
Aim
I wanted to avoid a simple patriarchal flip, where social structure ...
0
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1answer
80 views
Where should the terrorist destroy to destablize global economy [closed]
In my story(setting--modern day), a group of terrorist got one nuclear device from North Korea(50-100 kiloton). Their goal is to destablize global economy so the common people in first world nation (...
5
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5answers
955 views
Perils of having a moon consisting of valuable material
In the 1960s we were disappointed to find that the moon is a pile of dust and rubble with no easily accessible valuable materials. Well, we kind of knew it before that, but we weren't sure. Anyway, ...
3
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6answers
128 views
Early stages of a police / surveillance state, experiment leading to totaliarian government [closed]
A democratic government starts tightening its grip on the citizens by tiny steps, slowly but surely they advance towards a state that resembles China today.
In their first step, they start a ...
1
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4answers
145 views
What kind of transport infrastructure would there be in a new planetary colony?
Say humanity have the luxury to start anew. Colonizing a planet where speed of colonization is not an issue. Let's assume planet conditions and gravity pull similar to Earth. Technology relatively ...
4
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3answers
89 views
Considerations on settlements and urban development on a colonized exoplanet
When humans are colonizing a new planet, what are the considerations that need to be made for settlement placement and development?
For this particular question, let's consider the following ...
4
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5answers
170 views
What system could incentivize medical care to keep all people as healthy as possible? [closed]
I want a world where doctors are incentivized to keep all people as healthy as possible with the budget society is willing to spend on healthcare. It should also be a world where people would like to ...
5
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4answers
156 views
How would a Disappearer make himself known as reliable?
A "Disappearer" sells the service of taking people and giving them new lives and identities. The Disappearer doesn't want to reveal identity to avoid being interrogated by the police or worse, ...
22
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15answers
4k views
What's the most profitable use for an elemental transmuter?
The cold fusion generator is ready, loaded with tons of heavy water. The scientists stand by ready to measure the energy output of the amazing new technology.
They turn it on, and as expected, get ...
1
vote
1answer
190 views
Direct Consequences of Powered Armor [closed]
The Question
What are the direct consequences of powered armor being practical?
Background
In the setting I have been working on, humanity has invented a man-machine interface, bio-mechanical cells ...
1
vote
4answers
251 views
If North America and Latin America unified into one country, how would the highway system work?
Canada, the US, and Mexico all have pretty nice highways. However, that isn’t the case with most Latin America countries that don’t even have paved highways. Would the supercountry use all of its ...
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5answers
558 views
Is it possible for a country to develop the equivalent of a Second Industrial Revolution while under a war of attrition?
I'm developing a setting that has majoritarily experienced a First Industrial Revolution after a period of peace, preceded by a period of warfare sort of equivalent to the Napoleonic wars.
Now I am ...
5
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12answers
3k views
Can a successful economy exist without renting stuff?
Modern capitalism is considered as the most successful form of economy (and it clearly works better than, say, communism), but it too has its flaws. One of the most glaring ones (in my opinion) is the ...
1
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4answers
251 views
Can all citizens/residents of town/city be wealthy? [closed]
Was just reading a bedtime story to the kids where there was an isolated small town and "everyone was wealthy and happy" and that got me thinking, can it actually be true?
If everyone is "wealthy", ...
13
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4answers
653 views
Will asteroid mining be economical in foreseeable future?
I see that asteroid mining had already been extensively discussed in the context of today's technology (Ex. Is Asteroid Harvesting economic?) and the answer is a definitive "No" - it's not economical ...
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2answers
164 views
Implications of a scifi society's industry [closed]
If a space faring society has access to such resources, and technological capabilities that they are able to make alloys strong enough to build large, armored space vessels, extract gas from a gas ...
20
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9answers
4k views
How would two worlds first establish an exchange rate between their currencies
There are two worlds of more or less equivalent technological level, say a difference of only a few decades and no more than 50 years. A first contact event occurs and after the hoopla dies down ...
3
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2answers
227 views
Wich knowledge would persevere in this post-apocalyptic world?
First of all: sorry for my english.
I'm writing a post-apocalyptic book and I got some simple questions before I can finish shapping its world. In my fiction, the world fell apart (doesn't matter ...
2
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1answer
89 views
Economics of a Port City [closed]
Gaian is a large city situated along a natural cove, defended to the north and south by towering mountains and to the east by the city walls. To the west is the largest ocean in the known world. Gaian ...
9
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9answers
4k views
How would a disabled person earn their living in a medieval-type town?
We are in a far future. Humanity has widely abandoned technology, and effectively reached medieval level (so things need not be true to an actual medieval setting).
We are in a larger town. In that ...
2
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5answers
150 views
What resources would Earth want from a STL colonial civilization? [duplicate]
In the year 21XX, Earth sends several slower-than-light ships to colonize Earth-like planets. The atmosphere, topsoil mineral composition, and the frequency profile and intensity of light on these ...
23
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13answers
4k views
Fantasy Macro Economics: What would Merfolk trade for?
In the world I'm making, humans trade with a variety of species, one of which is a society of merpeople. Humans typically acquire goods and services in the form of fish, pearls, under sea flora for ...
1
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1answer
162 views
What are some modern policies that can be applied to or improve 17th-century European society? [closed]
Supposedly, a relatively smart + educated young woman from modern society is transmigrated into a body of a woman living in a country that is similar to 17th-century Europe. Monarchy and nobility ...
