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[Malcolm Khross]

So, I've been asked in-character several times to consider putting up a detailed explanation of the Caldari State and how the Megacorporations and corporate structure all ties in together. Obviously, as I'm not the only Caldari RPer around and certainly not the authority on the matter, I wanted to draft a rough copy and post it here so people (primarily other Caldari RPers) could read over it and give their inputs and ideas (even if your input is "Bah, don't do this!")

So, this is only the first part of the entire post (limited by word count):

It has been requested of me more than once to create a detailed explanation of the composition of the Caldari State and how corporations work within it. I will state from the beginning that in order to understand the Caldari State you must understand the Caldari and to understand the Caldari you must sincerely step away from your predispositions and viewpoints and seek to adopt the mindset of the Caldari people.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this thread is not to convince anyone that the Caldari way of life is superior to any other, nor that anyone should adopt our way of life for any reason other than choosing to do so. It is simply our way of life.

Megacorporations and Citizenship

If we take into account the various regions and systems that compose the Caldari State and visually picture them as a puzzle with nine interlocking pieces of various shapes and sizes, each puzzle piece represents a governing authority over that region of the State. Eight are the Megacorporations and the ninth is independent contractors and license brokers. The eight Megacorporations are divided into three principle blocs, representing their business philosophy and intercorporate/international policy:

Patriots

Patriot corporations are largely known for their support of the old principles and traditions of the Caldari and a desire for a strong, independent State. These corporations are:

• Kaalakiota Corporation
• Lai Dai Corporation
• Wiyrkomi Corporation

Liberals

Liberal corporations are known for their support of strong international relationships, international business practices and progressive public policies. These corporations are:

• Ishukone Corporation
• Hyasyoda Corporation

Practicals

Practical corporations are known for their ruthless business practices and their focus on practicality over ethics or traditions as well as the most expansionist business policies. These corporations are:

• CBD Corporation
• Nugoeihuvi (NOH) Corporation
• Sukuuvestaa Corporation

Each Corporation maintains its own paramilitary police and security force which operates within the regions governed by that specific megacorporation. (These are not to be confused with the Caldari Navy).

With this understanding, it is important to note that "Caldari Citizen" is a term used only by those outside of the State to refer collectively to those within it. The Caldari refer to ourselves as a citizen of whatever megacorporation we are associated with, such as "Wiyrkomi Citizen" or "Ishukone Citizen." It is also important to understand that life may differ greatly between citizens of various corporations, the daily activities and experience of a Wiyrkomi Citizen are likely to be very different from that of a Sukuuvestaa Citizen. Citizenship in a certain corporation is determined by the area in which you live and the corporation in which you work. It is common for a child to continue to work within the same megacorporation as their parents, so a child born to Sukuuvestaa Citizens is likely to work for Sukuuvestaa Corporation when they are of the age. However, exceptions do occur and it is possible to change your corporate citizenship either by your own will or by the direction of your corporation (that is to say that one corporation may transfer a citizen to another corporation for various reasons).

Duty, Responsibility and Identity

Perhaps the most confusing thing about the Caldari corporate structure and State is the duty of the citizen and the duty of the corporation. It is the duty of the citizen to apply their talents, abilities and time toward the corporation under which they are a citizen. The citizen is expected to apply themselves thoroughly to their corporation, to perform their responsibilities and duties with diligence and to comply with corporate policy. This creates the workforce of the corporation and allows it to provide its products and services both internally and externally, thus each citizen plays an important role in the success of the corporation and, in this way, invests into it.

The corporation is then expected to provide food, housing and education to its citizens. This is not to say that you must eat what you are given, when you are given it or that you must live where you are told to live (though many do). It is the duty of the corporation to see that its citizens are provided for in these ways, housing is provided for the citizen as part of their compensation for labor, food is provided in the same manner (house decorations and locations are often able to be chosen by the citizen as well as what foods to eat). Education is thoroughly in control of the corporation, a child will be given an education appropriate to their interests and aptitudes, directed by the corporation in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the corporation (as well as the standard of living for the child by allowing them to work within their interests and aptitudes). As the corporation's efficiency grows, its ability to provide jobs, housing and food expands, its political and business influence expands and everyone within the corporation benefits.

Because of this structure, a Caldari identifies entirely with their corporate identity. Just as one would be a Wiyrkomi Citizen, the identity of the individual derives directly from their position within that corporation. The higher the position within a corporation, the better the benefits (housing, education) for the individual as well as their family. Thus it is common for an individual to work diligently and consider it an honor to provide for themselves and their families through service to the corporation, which then benefits the corporation and subsequently benefits everyone within the corporation as explained above.

[Malcolm Khross]

I should note that this write-up is very specifically catered to Malcolm's way of speaking and how he would explain it to people. The opening is obviously entirely his own sentiments and the write-up is designed to be factual but still carefully politically written from Malcolm's Patriot mindset.

My main thing is that I want to give others a chance to fix inadequacies or discrepancies as well as check the "facts" of it before I make a public post on it because I don't want to presume to speak for the whole Caldari RP bloc.

[Ken]

InB4Hamish

Also, nice post, will read in detail when I get a few minutes later today.

[Desiderya]

Good write-up! 

What should be noted is the situation of those who fell out of the corporate system, mostly by their own faults, such as significant corruption, theft and other criminal activities. They are very unlikely to be employed by other (state) corporations and will very likely loose their citizenship and be forced to live at the fringes of society. It is unclear how descendants of these cases are handled. Since there is always the need for skilled labour I would assume that screenings would be done and, maybe depending on the severity of the case, chances to restore the 'family honor' would be handed out - or an offer of adoption.

There's no clear PF on all of that, only the sentence "The Caldari State offers both the best and the worst living conditions in the cluster.".

[Misan]

Nicely done. I should note that as far as word count goes the cap is very large so you should be able to fit quite a bit in there. Just have a look at the channel list sticky to get a feel for that, it took a long time for that to actually run out of space in the first post.

[Malcolm Khross]

Ya Misan, I was talking about the character limit on the EVE-O forums, it was typed into it first just so I'd know what my limit was. I'll have part two up shortly. Thanks for the feedback guys!

[orange]

InB4Hamish

Malcolm,  I would not use the term citizen to describe any Caldari.  Ishukone Employee, KK Employee, etc.  Sometimes Caldari maybe Employees of one corporation, but live as tenants of another corporation and thus fall under the regulations of both corporations.  I tend to think of most things in the State being in an explicit contract of some kind.  When a person in "modern Caldari society" is not on a contract of some kind, they fall through the cracks.

The Federation & Republic have what we think of as citizens.  The State does not have classical citizens, it has denizens.  In the State, you only have the rights, protections, and privileges afforded to you by contract (employee, housing, education, etc).   This of course allows for abuse when traditional Caldari culture is contorted by societies that do not hold to Heiian (Gallente) and personal greed is seen as acceptable by those in positions of power.

In the Federation (& Republic to a less extent), "a government by the people" is seen as the best check on human greed (greed of the masses vs greed of individuals in power).   In the State, tradition (Heiian), shareholders, boards of directors, and the employees, tenants, etc are the checks on those in power.   Now, with the rise of Tibus Heth & the CPD, there is a 3rd-party check more akin to the Federation's (& Republic's) government.  It should be noted that Tibus Heth's domestic policies work to address the very complaints and concerns Federation observes have had towards the State prior to his rise.   It is the support for his foreign policy that has them all up-in-arms, literally.

[Malcolm Khross]

Good points Hamish, I'll add a few of my own.

I tend to avoid the use of the "living on contract" because that implies that you have to undergo an actual contract process (which isn't stated anywhere and is rather counter intuitive to the indoctrination of the citizens). It's more like the employees of a corporation are simply afforded provisions as part of their employment (from their parent corporation). The issue is the picture that the word "contract" creates isn't what seems to be described by the Caldari State write-up, which focuses more on the seemless indoctrination of employees by their corporations. (Born into SuVee, raised with SuVee radio and television programming, going to SuVee schools, etc) With no formal contract ever being written or signed (though the details of an employee are kept on record at the corporate level).

Also, keep in mind that Malcom is writing this up specifically to help outsiders understand how things work. The reason I'm using the word "citizen" is because that's how people refer to those living within a government system, thus Malcolm is using "citizen" to make sense to the readers. I agree with you from an internal perspective that the word "citizen" is a less-than-accurate term in the State but the idea is to try and make sense to an external reader. (Does that make sense?)

The explanation of how the State Executor fits in (and the Provists) will be added later (in part 2 hopefully).

[orange]

<- Not Hamish 

Employment tends to have a contract associated with it.

The children of employees are afforded certain benefits offered by the employer (corporation).  When the student reaches a particular education level, they stop being supported by their parents' contract(s) with the "parent" corporation and begin to incur obligations to the corporation of their own.

Someone whose parents always worked for SuVee went to SuVee schools (on their parents' contract(s)) and had access to SuVee approved media in the SuVee provided community.   At some point, they are given the option to "sign on the dotted line" and sign up to work for SuVee for X time following their continuing education within the SuVee system/opportunity to go the "independent" schools.   Down the road, other services they grew up using come with a commitment to work for SuVee for Y time, etc.

For many Caldari, the contract is just a form they sign to progress to the next part of their life.  It however binds them to the corporation (and the corporation them).

In the Federation, particular aspects of life are provided by local/regional/Federal governments and there is may or may not be an obligation tied to those services.

[Z.Sinraali]

Damnable tubes ate my post...

Although 'citizen' may not be sufficiently precise, given the ties of loyalty\\indoctrination within the megacorporate structure, mere 'employee' doesn't feel right either.

I wanna say that contracts are probably 'signed', but most of them are just dictated by the corporate structure to the mass who make up what might be called a bargaining unit or maybe just job category in the our world. (Though of course the amount of bargaining done is going to be slim to nil, given the power and information asymmetry inherent in the relationship.) And given that the contract process is defined in relation to law made by the corporations themselves, the 'signing' could easily be something as simple as swiping your ID card at the first factory complex to which you've been assigned//offered a position.

The 'signing' of a contract is probably something that's done at the age of majority, which in this case would largely be defined in relation to the time when aptitude testing indicates no further schooling would be cost-effective. Before that, children are governed and protected by the parent corporation as outlined in the contract that their parents signed, once upon a time.

I imagine contracts for groups of employee\\citizens are sometimes traded in the way that royal marriages once were, to cement alliances and diffuse conflicts. I think I remember reading somewhere that Caldari that work at more than one corp in their lives tend to become more cynical, and I can't imagine that only happens through extractions and other sorts of employee poaching.

Or maybe I'm just rationalizing something I've already written into my character's backstory...

[Matariki Rain]

I agree with Dex that "citizen" doesn't quite catch the nature of the relationship, particularly since the employer doesn't have an obligation towards employees it no longer requires. I went to look at Svetlana Scarlet's The Caldari Dialogues for alternative ideas... and found she uses "citizen". She does use it more sparingly, though.

[Malcolm Khross]

<- Not Hamish 

Right, Dex - sorry. (I knew that)

I suppose I can see where you're coming from with that viewpoint on contracts. I just never saw it that way because it seems to me like citizens of the State don't really have that option, they just grow up knowing they're going to be working for the State. I mean, if we take into consideration how the Japanese had mass internship for students as they got near high school, it would essentially just educate them into a field seemlessly. I sort of saw the State doing things the same way, further playing into the "corporate identity" mindset "this is just who I am."

It seems like having them sign a dotted line saying "I will work for you" breaks that identity immersion to some extent. Just my opinion though.

[Ken]

Dex makes a good point about the terminology.  The word "citizen" is convenient for the audience because we understand what you mean--someone who lives in the Caldari State--but if you don't explain how a Caldari citizen's relationship with their government is different from a modern real world citizen's, something is lost.  Everyone in the State is an employee of a corporation or they have fallen through cracks, gone off the grid, left the reservation, etc.  A couple of points from my own perspective on the State to help magnify the scope...

• The State is not really defined by geographic boundaries, but rather consists of the assets and interests of the Big Eight.
• The Big Eight are in many ways smaller empires unto themselves.  The CEP can't really tell one mega to do any particular thing and power is diffused and decentralized across the State.  You might consider the State to be vaguely confederate in its political organization.
• The State has a population measured in trillions.
• That means there are at least 1 trillion+ people who are employed directly by one of the Big Eight megacorps or their subsidiaries.
• There are thousands of subsidiary corporations.
• Citizens of the State sign contracts with and are employees of these corporations, not of the State itself.
• One is not Caldari because they are of the State.  One is Caldari because they are of a sovereign corporation.

Below is a (partial) list of chrons, news, and evelopedia articles that are relevant to Caldari PF:

List of Official News Articles Involving the Caldari State

Mind Clash
Fatal & the Rabbit
Tyma Raitaru
War of Independence: The Early Days
War of Independence: The Breakout
War of Independence: The War Drones On
The Right Man, the Right Place
The Sarpati Family
Mordu's Legion
New Horizons
State Factionalism
The Science of Never Again
Cold Wind
Children of Light
Methods of Torture: The Caldari
In the Electric Museum
Terms
Murder and Creation
With Acknowledgements to Mad Dogs
The Dark End of Space
The Better Part of Valor
Masks of Authority
A World Where No Such Road Will Run
Tomorrow A Dream <-- quite significant to the topic
Wild Earth
Under the Sea, the City
Taught Thoughts
The Ever-Turning Wheels
Blind Auction
For the State
The Slow Disease (Die, Heth, die...)
Caldari Funds Unlimited

The State
State of the State 110.06.11
The Caldari Financial System (extremely detailed)
Caldari Business Tribunal
Black Rise
Games of State (Practical propaganda)
This Is the State (Patriot propaganda)

Views of the Caldari (another player's non-PF view of the State)

[Makkal]

A suggestion for what to call a Caldari citizen: worker. (työntekijä)

So far this sounds exactly like I imagined the Caldari State to function. I was going to complain about the white-washing but then I read that this was an IC post for the ISG, which makes more sense.

[Lyn Farel]

I imagine contracts for groups of employee\\citizens are sometimes traded in the way that royal marriages once were, to cement alliances and diffuse conflicts. I think I remember reading somewhere that Caldari that work at more than one corp in their lives tend to become more cynical, and I can't imagine that only happens through extractions and other sorts of employee poaching.

Or maybe I'm just rationalizing something I've already written into my character's backstory...

Standing outside the traditional power structures are two distinct groups of Caldari who together make up the "disassociated." The first group is composed of those who've fallen off the bottom rung of the megacorp ladder. While they retain their citizenship, in practice these few people simply fall through the cracks between the megacorps and have essentially disappeared from the system, usually permanently. The second group includes those who've found themselves moving between two or three different corporations—usually upper-middle management transferred between corporations in a giant game of pass-the-personnel—and who have in the process realized quite how thoroughly indoctrinated the average employee is.

Those from the first group tend to take part on some level in the criminal underworld, while those from the second often end up doing very well in non-standard careers or in unlikely places within the corporate structure, united solely by their lack of adherence to any franchised corporate ideology. Their opinions as a result are incredibly diverse, and as long as this discreteness remains the case (and their membership stays as small as it traditionally is), they'll continue to exert little significant pressure on State affairs.