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Anarchy
In truth, Anarchy is the lack of
government due to either a revolution or the collapse of the previous
government due to discontented citizens. While no government is in
existence, no taxes are collected, no science research is conducted,
and no progress is put into either City Improvements or Wonders of the
World. If you can, try and stay away from this form of government. And
if you're going to be switching government types often, attempt to get
the Statue of Liberty wonder.
Despotism
Under this form of government, you
have absolute control over the people in your empire. While this gives
you greater control over your empire, the production capabilities
within cities will be limited. Furthermore, each unit produced above
the city size will cost one Shield per turn, and Settler Units eat one
unit of food per turn. In terms of keeping the citizens in each city
happy, three Military Units within a city represent martial law,
resulting in up to three citizens being kept content. When ruling under
despotism, the farther cities are away from your capital city, the
higher corruption and waste will be. Finally, the Tax, Science, and
Luxuries rates that you set cannot go higher than 60 percent, and the
production capabilities of terrain squares are reduced. In the early
stages of a simulation, operating under this form of government is
actually somewhat beneficial, but you'll soon have to change to another
type of government to grow into a productive empire.
Monarchy
I usually just skip over this form of
government straight to Republic. But if your going to be having a lot
of troops crossing oceans or your going to be at war alot, this is the
government of my choice. Under a Monarchy, you rule by divine right
over your empire. This form of government gives less control to the
ruler than despotism but makes the population happier and more
productive. But the drawbacks to Monarchy are the same as despotism,
although much less severe. The thing most people like is placing cities
under Martial Law with up to 3 military units within the city to make 3
citizens content. Another great thing is it will allow up to 3 military
units to leave the city radius without any financial burden. The Tax,
Science, and Luxuries rates cannot go above 70 percent.
Fundamentalism
This is a new form of government
that's available in Civ II. This form of government is based on a set
of beliefs that usually derive from religion, and both the population
and the rulers are totally dedicated to their beliefs. They are willing
to do just about anything to uphold them. Fanatics are a new type of
Military Unit that can only be created under this form of government,
which don't penalize you financially until more than ten units per city
are active. Under this form of government, no citizens are ever
unhappy. This means that your individual cities will never enter into a
state of civil disorder and that corruption is kept at zero. The Tax,
Science, and Luxuries rates cannot be set above 80 percent under a
Fundamentalist government. Also, the City Improvements and Wonders of
the World that are dedicated to making citizens content or happy will
now generate money, because the population is happy by default. The
drawback to this form of government is that all science production is
cut in half, so your empire's progress toward developing new advances
will be limited. Finally, if an enemy spy or diplomat (terrorist) is
captured, the penalty for them will be lighter than the death penalty,
which is standard under other forms of government.
Communism
This isn't socialism like in old
mother Russia, this is the government Russia was striving towards. All
goods and production are commonly owned under this form of government;
however, you (the leader) still retain all decision-making powers.
There is no corruption under a Communist government, and all Spy Units
produced are immediately given Veteran status. The Tax, Science, and
Luxuries rates cannot be set above 80 percent. When you place three
military units within a city, under this form of government, two
unhappy citizens are made content.
The Republic
This is usually my government of
choice until I get to Democracy. This form of government represents a
political system where elected representatives exercise power over the
people who are separated up into numerous city states. In the game each
city controlled by your empire represents a single state. Even though
you can't maintain martial law in a city under this government, trade
is boosted by personal and economic freedoms to the point that every
space that is already producing trade produces 1 extra trade arrow.
Because of this trade increase, you can easily afford to raise luxuries
to at least 20% to keep people content. When forming trade routes under
this form of government, you're even given extra trade bonuses. Another
plus is that corruption is very low, compared to other forms. But the
bad side to having all this prosperity in your Empire is that
everything you do has to be OKed by the senate. And the senate will
almost always rule for peace with other civilizations to the point of
going behind your back to sign cease fires and peace treaties. Another
problem is that you must bear the full cost of fielding an army. Every
unit costs 1 Shield, every settler unit costs 2 food of support, and
troops that are outside the city radius make 1 citizen discontent.
Also, every Stealth bomber, missile, or helicopter, regardless of
location, causes 1 citizen to become discontent in it's home city.
These also cause 1 discontent citizen in the city in which they are
based. The maximum rate possible for Taxes/Science/Luxuries is 80%.
Democracy
This is the ultimate form of
government in Civilizations II. This form of government offers its
citizens the ultimate in political and economic freedom. Like the
Republic, every square already producing trade produces 1 extra trade
arrow. Also, your cities and troops can't be bribed due to extremely
high patriotism. Trade bonuses are even higher under this form of
government. Corruption and waist is non-existent due to everyone trying
to get ahead in the world. Again, like under Republic, you have to bear
full cost of your military. A military unit costs 1 Shield, a settler
costs 2 food, and every military unit outside the city radius makes 1
citizen discontent. Every Stealth bomber, missile, or helicopter also
creates a discontent citizen each. Your senate will feel free to alter
your foreign policies, just like under The Republic. I usually get to
this form of government just to build up my empire and its knowledge
advances, then I change to Fundamentalism and invade. One very good way
to know if your ready for Democracy is if you are at 20% Luxuries and
still need 2 entertainers, then your not yet ready for it and need to
switch to a more controlled form of government. Also, Democracy is very
fragile. If one of your cities is in civil unrest for more than 1 turn,
then your government will fall leaving you under Anarchy. Losing
precious time, you probably needed to upgrade your cities.
