Thursday, December 6, 2012

Scratching that Pedantic Urge: Economy Sizes

I just got to get this itch: Starting Wealth is determined largely by the size of the Economy. Imperial Rome, in its height had a very large economy with a great surplus of resources for its citizens. This was the same with Imperial China. 

Economies are greater than the SUM of its parts because of Specialization. Specialization was a productivity multiplier, allowing the parts to be way more productive when each cog and wheel hit their stride. 


Pre-Civilization. (TL0) Pre-civilization is before city-building, and these economies were very immature and numbered in a few thousands at most. Starting wealth at 250f.

Early Civilizations. (TL1). This is when an economy first reached a million. Starting wealth at 500f.
Examples are
  • City States of the Levant
  • The Empire of Sargon
  • Old Kingdom Egypt
  • Kingdoms before the Xia
  • the Celtic and Germanic communities prior to Romans conquest.
Early Empires and the Great City States. (TL2) This is when an economy reaches the size of few millions.  Starting wealth at 750f.
Examples are
  • the Egyptian, Mycenaean, and Hittite Empires
  • the Greek City States,
  • Early Roman Republic,
  • City States after the Fall of the Roman Empire,
  • The Zhou during the Warring States period,
Kingdoms and Nation States (TL3). This is when the economy grew to tens of millions. When City States became more complex, assimilating more entities, and cultural identity was not limited to a City. Starting wealth at 1,000f. 
Examples are
  • the Roman Republic
  • Unified Greece
  • the Persian Empire
  • the Empires of the Qin and Han Dynasty
The Great Empires (TL4). This is when the economy grew up to a hundred million. It has reached such a size and breadth that a professional bureaucracy is needed. Starting wealth at 2,000f.
Examples are
  • the height of the Roman Empire,
  • the Empire of the Tang Dynasty and onwards,
  • the Empires of the Age of Sail  

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