Questions tagged [economy]
For questions regarding wealth, trade, or financial concepts.
742
questions
5
votes
5answers
143 views
What would be the smallest change required for the United States to purchase Greenland (time frame: 1945-2000)? [closed]
I have heard there have been multiple instances of this happening prior to the current president's proposal. Could this have seriously happened some time in the 20th century?
7
votes
4answers
1k views
Which map below would make more sense for a post-apocalyptic federal government to control if it wanted to liberate the country?
So I’m currently stuck between the peninsula-map and this one .
Between the two, which would make more sense for the federal government to have control over 17 years after zombies and a virus both ...
2
votes
4answers
1k views
How Much Gold to Pay Off Death Sentence? [closed]
So, you've got a fantasy kingdom that has had the better part of its treasury stolen by a dragon. They tracked the dragon back to its lair and trapped it permanently inside... but the dragon refuses ...
9
votes
6answers
1k views
How can a nation that preys on its neighbors survive in the long term?
There is a veil which separates our reality from a parallel dimension that contains Eldritch abominations. An predatory empire has discovered that they can harness the power of this realm by summoning ...
2
votes
1answer
140 views
How can I get people to put their money where their mouth is? [closed]
When individuals cede their power for effective choice to involuntary institutions, as soon as there's an uncoupling between what the institutions are aiming at and the interests of people, which do ...
7
votes
3answers
118 views
Nipping urban sprawl in the bud
'The culture of good place-making, like the culture of farming, or agriculture, is a body of knowledge and acquired skills. It is not bred in the bone, and if it is not transmitted from one generation ...
6
votes
4answers
158 views
Economy of advanced interstellar society
I am trying to create a game, where you take role of CEO of huge company in future interstellar society. All basic needs of humans like food, accomodation, trasport, healthcare, education are ...
12
votes
10answers
594 views
Economics aboard a colony ship [closed]
Suppose we have an interstellar generation ship, with an initial population of about 10,000 and a final population (on arrival) of about 20,000. Since they're traveling for sixty-some-odd years, ...
7
votes
4answers
592 views
Human labor required to setup automated mining outpost on faraway planet?
Glossing over the technological implications of interstellar travel, what sort of human labor might still be required in a future where we are capable of setting up nigh-fully automated endeavors on ...
4
votes
3answers
134 views
Can secrets/information be a feasible currency in a fantasy setting?
In a generic fantasy world, there exists an island community in which the inhabitants are freely provided food, board, and entertainment. Their only use for traditional coin is to trade with passing ...
5
votes
3answers
237 views
How would a long lifespan affect the economy?
My species have an average lifespan of 500 years. In the first 20 years and the last 30 years, they age normally, but for the rest, they appear barely to age at all. If we were to compare them to ...
16
votes
7answers
2k views
Is a privately owned nomadic trading fleet economically viable?
A popular trope with some basis in history is the "travelling merchant", who visits remote villages carrying merchandise both common and rare, and many stories from strange lands.
I've got a scenario ...
13
votes
22answers
6k views
How can I make female battle mages a good investment for warfare?
Runes are used to enhance the human body's capabilities. They are inscribed onto the skin through a ritual and work by the individual accessing the rune when needed, creating the effect. These ...
4
votes
1answer
79 views
What “big con game” could an alternate-reality traveller play on a knowledgeable and suspicious civilization?
I have a cosmos where FTL travel is via an alternate dimension. The problem is when you return to our universe, you find yourself at the right destination, but a completely different parallel world ...
9
votes
3answers
264 views
What would be valuable and useable as currency for people traveling between multiple dimensions?
I have a cosmos where FTL travel is via an alternate dimension. The problem is when you return to our universe, you find yourself at the right destination, but a completely different parallel world ...
7
votes
4answers
164 views
The economics of laser sails vs fusion rockets
What would be the economic trade offs of building fusion powered rockets vs building laser relays across the solar system? What assumptions would you need for each one of these to be the superior ...
1
vote
0answers
70 views
Would my version of a post-apocalyptic US federal government make sense and/or function properly?
So here’s some back story to catch you guys up:
In my story, the Black Flu broke out around 2002 and lasted from then all the way until 2010 where it burned itself out. The Black Flu was the most ...
32
votes
15answers
6k views
Can a store that doesn't need to buy merchandise stay unnoticed?
Setting
A world like ours, plus the usual magical masquerade, in an european capital (not decided which one yet).
This is for a story following a few families, each with one type of powers. The ...
16
votes
3answers
273 views
How to make a self-sustaining necropolis?
My living friends. I'm a Lich, a wizard that became a undead and obtained immortality, I am looking to build a necropolis for me to be its king, I chose a distant city to turn it's inabitants into ...
6
votes
7answers
1k views
Currency exchange across time [duplicate]
Congratulations! The year is 2030 and after a few months of waiting on a list you've been chosen to become one of a select few individuals who will be allowed to time travel to your chosen year of ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
Pandemic & minimum viable population of complex society [duplicate]
I am currently writing a book about a pandemic. If you want more informations, see my previous posts here and here.
Imagine a bacterium with a very high infection rate, so that within a year, most ...
1
vote
1answer
124 views
What would the job market look like if half the population suddenly disappeared? [closed]
Half of all humans on planet earth one day suddenly disappear, leaving no trace. My question is, how would this affect the job market?
First I assume there would be a lot of grieving over lost loved ...
47
votes
15answers
7k views
What would be the consequence of a traffic light system where the users with green light pay the users with red light?
Traffic lights are mechanisms that control the usage of intersections. I'd like to perform a thought experiment for an alternative mechanism. The basic idea is that the intersection is a shared ...
1
vote
7answers
301 views
Why would a government release a virus that preferentially kills old people; would a country struggling with an aging population secretly do this? [closed]
Inspired by current events, and the ongoing problem of too many old people and not enough young people creating a burden on pension/healthcare systems in Asia and around the world.
For starters, I ...
3
votes
3answers
150 views
Society with photosynthesis-capable humans
What would motivate photosynthetic human beings to work on menial jobs like cleaning , dish washing etc. - jobs where earning for food is main motive?
For such creatures, food could be prepared from ...
0
votes
4answers
223 views
Alternatives to a modern world that uses unemployed as a resource [closed]
In a human, modern, developed, technological world, the benefits of modernism begin to deliver bad results. It takes a huge force to concentrate in large cities, housing is unaffordable, jobs have ...
5
votes
7answers
230 views
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
98 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
172 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
vote
2answers
132 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
votes
1answer
147 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
votes
2answers
97 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
votes
1answer
112 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
votes
3answers
245 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
votes
3answers
182 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
votes
4answers
154 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
votes
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
votes
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 ...
6
votes
8answers
293 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 ...
-2
votes
1answer
122 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
543 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,...
-3
votes
1answer
139 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
votes
5answers
179 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
votes
4answers
251 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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
155 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
votes
6answers
335 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
votes
4answers
213 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 ...
10
votes
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
votes
2answers
81 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
votes
3answers
191 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 ...
