Virtual economics may ring a bell to some of you, and for the rest, it's alien to them. Perhaps they believe I'm speaking about virtual economies, like in games like Destiny, where Eververse sells cosmetics for in-game currency, but they may be surprised to realize that I'm not speaking about that at all. I'm speaking about an economic theory; an economic allegory if you will, that is all too present in Destiny and games similar to it, which argues that real-world economic and political ideologies can be found in the games we love; especially among things that seem so innocent, like a Trials carry. [b]Definitions:[/b] [i]Capitalism:[/i] An economic theory centralized around the private ownership of the means of production [i]Communism: [/i]An economic theory centralized around collective ownership of the means of production, along with the abolition of social and economic hierarchy [i]Monetary value: [/i]Relating to money or currency Now, the main idea I'm going to focus on here are the concept of in-game carries. Carries are simply put, the act of highly-skilled players taking lesser-skilled players through content they otherwise may not be able to complete, due to said skill-level. This is most commonly practiced in Raids and Trials of Osiris, which are believed to be the pinnacle of Destny's endgame experience. Most of the time, these are "free," and little to no monetary value stems from it, unless they are "paid" carries, which are heavily controversial in the community, with such community members such as Wish You Luck and LiL_Sonic_x performing them. I place both into two categories, which are polar opposites from one another: [i]virtual capitalism[/i] (the former), and [i]virtual communism [/i](the latter). Virtual capitalism to start off, is an allegorical version of free-market capitalism within the online gaming community, in which community members that are not directly affiliated with the developers of the game in question, participate in the act of supply & demand, through voluntary offerings of service for payment. This is what's known as a "paid carry." In a paid carry, players (a symbol of private businesses) who are lesser in skill to other players, pay a fee, so they can complete a difficult activity. In this regard it's usually Trials. Bungie, the developers (a symbol for the state) has no real influence in this action, neither endorsing nor condoning it. Virtual communism, is an allegorical version of communism within the online gaming community, in which community members that are not directly affiliated with the developers of the game in question, participate in helping lesser-skilled players through endgame content out of goodwill. Most of these players want to help as many people get to the Lighthouse or complete the newest raid as humanly possible, meaning there is no real expectation of effort or base-skill level. Anyone can tag along if they wish. This eventually leads to players gaining rewards or gear that they did not earn, nor pay for, which in a rather short period of time, will dramatically reduce the overall worth of said goods, with the in-game world saturated with raid gear and Trials weapons on players that didn't do anything to deserve. This means a bad player is physically indistinguishable from a good player, whereas endgame gear is traditionally supposed to symbolize the triumphs, and hard-fought battles that took considerable effort. In political terms, this dissolves the social hierarchy, defining all players as equal. In a communist system, a similar thing happens. Wealth is radically redistributed in such a way, that everyone is economically equal. Furthermore the ownership of the means of production is re-allocated to be collectively owned. Bungie has practically endorsed this model, with the likes of Lucky and Buttwipe, Real Kraftyy, and others, being at the centre of the community focus at one time or another. Right now, I would argue the Destiny community would be a hybrid, liberal-socialist system, with both paid and free carries being allowed as of late. In terms of s welfare-state, which is integral with most developed nations, even capitalist ones (take Scandinavia for example), I would argue the Destiny strategy guides and tips occasionally given by Bungie employees would constitute as welfare. Simply having access to the internet is enough to acquire enough knowledge to improve at the game if one truly puts their mind to it, which is what should happen. People shouldn't rely on others to carry them. They should rely on the help they are provided through strategy guides and internet forums, to help them sharpen their skills in the Crucible, and out in the wild. [b]TL,DR:[/b] [u]Free-carries in Destiny are an example of virtual communism, while paid-carries are an example of a functioning free-market[/u]