Corteirism

Corteirism is a political theory developed by Mairon Corteir. 
The founding work on Corteirism is "A Treatise on Corteirist Theory", by Mairon II Corteir, King of Acenoty-Corigan and Emperor of Xing. It is currently the main ideology of the Empire of Re-Corath, the successor state of Acenoty-Corrigan.
== Variants ==
=== Neo-Corteirism ===
A reinvention of Corteirism following the publication of Of Stars and Swords and revelations of Mairon Corteir's atrocities, which aims to take the good from Corteirist theory while discarding the bad. Neo-Corteirists are federalists, in favour of a more centralized government and military for the Vrijsteden, but also support the autonomy of individual Vrijsteds. Its ideology summed up is "Vrijsteden before Vrijsteds".
Neo-Corteirism is the most powerful of the three main competing factions in the Vrijsteden, with Svobodism a close second. Powerful figures such as the Vrijstedian President Xaeron II of Acenoty, King Charles of Corigan, and Chancellor Mrv favour the neo-Corteirist faction, with its support base being largely located in the Corigan-influenced northern territories, as opposed to Svobodism's southern base of support. While Neo-Corteirists are famous for their clashes with Svobodists, they are the "centrist" faction of the Vrijsteden, and often find common ground with Svobodists, especially against their mutual enemy the Classicalists.
=== Classical Corteirism ===
Also known as "Classicalism", this is the most conservative branch of Corteirism. It was formed in the Corteirist schism of 53 VE following the publication of Mairon Corteir's memoirs, and is largely considered a fringe extremist faction. Classicalists are generally supporters of all Mairon Corteir's work, especially his more extreme imperialist or totalitarian views, and apologists for his atrocities such as those against Maecenian civilians he committed in Xing.
The only outwardly Classicalist in the Vrijstedian government at present is King Doulos I of Acenoty, who has publicly declared his admiration of Mairon's plans for a Xing Empire, and supported the conversion of the Vrijsteden into a pan-Abexilan empire.
== A Treatise on Corteirist Theory ==
by Mairon II Corteir
It is an apparent and fundamental truth that civilization is based upon two clear and distinct principles: that the strong should protect the week, and the weak should serve the strong. These fundamentals lay forth the simple goal for which civilization exists; that men should hope to find mutual survival.
Furthermore, two great sins in regards to this are us such; that the strong should pray upon the weak, or that the weak should rule the strong. Upon either of these two sins gaining institutionalization, one shall find their nation in ruins.
Thusly do I lift my pen in service of the means by which a nation may persist.
There are 9 essentials in this matter divided amongst three sorts.
==== Of a nation’s nature: ====
First, a nation should be small in geography. When the nation spreads itself across much land, and condemns itself to an inevitable defeat as size demands war and will ultimately bleed a state beyond its means to defend itself.
Second, when a sovereign state is small, its needs are well known by its rulers.
Third, when a state is small it lends itself to economic agility and may pivot on demand.
==== Of a nation’s diet: ====
Firstly, wealth and labour are a nation’s bread and meat. A state must strive to be as wealthy as possible. In the event of the unforeseen, money shall oft purchase the means of its solution. Be that swords or spendthrift in nature.
Second, a nation should have a stable means of funding itself. This can take many forms, from the extraction of oars, the manufacturing of worthy works, or the occupation of facilitating trade. 
Once these means are had, a state should put forth wealth into diversifying its assets. This allows for the state to accumulate wealth.
A nation should never under any circumstances, be beholden onto the import of food in order to feed its populace. Without nutritional autonomy, a state a vassal only.
Third, a nation should maintain a mercenary company of its own. In order to be talented at war, which is necessary for ones sovereign defense. Doing this will also allow further incomes to come in, for gold is oft the domain of the dogs of war.
==== Of a nation’s master: ====
It is easiest to find a single man that is wise, then a nation that is wise. A nation should be possessed of a King who is learned in the matters of state having spent as you've been trained in this craft. Some may say “power corrupts” but this is flagrantly untrue. A mid-wit’s understanding of human nature.
Power reveals. It shows what a man would do when in a position where he shall suffer no consequences for his misdeeds. And if a man is truly virtuous, no error shall arise.
Democracy, on the other hand, is a manner of strange alchemy by which a creature is who is weak shall stealthily and in secret, and in alliance or allegiance to another individual, usurp the mandate of rulership from the strong. They bid upon town criers to give lofty speeches of idealized conditions for the common man, appealing to his desire for finer bread and lower taxes, but fundamentally this only takes away the consequences of mismanagement of the nation from the nation's de-facto rulers and instead shifts it onto commons, who shall then fight among themselves while not realizing they are being robbed, and shall even freely give their wealth to these deceivers.
Second, a King’s wealth and prosperity is directly tied to his nation. Some shortsighted individuals may see this as a means to profit but in the long term, any wise ruler (and by following the logic of these lessons one shall always be a wise ruler) will pursue the longer-termed gain, which is the prosperity of all one’s subjects.
Thirdly, a King should sire many sons and daughters. In this manner, he shall place them in various positions of power as a means to test them and then from those that do not suffer from maladaptation to this, shall place the one with best virtue upon the throne.
Further more a King should possess many concubines, all of which produce children that are tightly bound to his official queen as her own children despite not being born of her blood.
A Queen should likewise use surrogates and adopt and seek to prevent producing heirs biologically.
=== OOC from MaironTheMerchant ===
The following is provided for full historical context and as it was included in the text of Corteirist theory which Mairon requested I add to the wiki. -Sasha Suvorov
# Small nations can make way more money per capita because there is only a small amount of grinders and spreading them across territories will give you less money
# Small nations means more activity as there is an actual sense of community
# Small nations are harder to fight if they are done correctly. No one wants to fight a nation that can hire 5 mercenary groups just so they can gain like, 100 chunks.
# If you expand outwards and map-paint you will eventually collapse due to people wanting to rule in your place, become independent, or you get tied up in fabricated wars did you eventually just straight up go broke fighting.
# Money is everything. Money makes the able to afford buildings resources and armies.
# Always have a means of making money. Sometimes that's brewing, sometimes that's cheesemaking, sometimes that is manufacturing arms or even running your own market. Lowest case, make cactus XP farms. Add in a lore wise way you make money though.
# Make a mercenary group for your state. People come to SW to fight in wars and do cool shit. Without wars, most of this is just grinding and no 14 year old that joins your nation (which will be likely be most of them) will want to do that for hours after school for no reason. Plus it makes you a fuckload of money and gives her people experience fighting in wars.
# Mfs be power tripping all the time in this game those that you will lose and those that don't stand a chance at greatness.
# Democracy is fucking cringe. This is a medieval block game, not your lame “inclusive” safe space where people are walking around eggshells because you're so toxic about political correctness. Be a man and oppress the masses. And people that do stan democracy will be the first to quit when things don't go their way because they are hopped up on self righteousness. Moreover, most democracies will have people trying to become Kings anyways because it's Stoneworks for gods sake.
# Do you really think that the rando who joined the server and doesn't know anything is going to make smart choices? Why should his vote count? People fight each other when the votes don't go their way anyways.
# If you want to leave your nation gracefully, make someone a crown-prince and then see if they actually do good shit. If they do, then abdicate. If not, find someone else.
# For your economy: the average SW player puts in between 5 to 10 hours of playtime, sometimes a few days, before they go inactive. Get them in your nation, show them how to grind (I like showing them cheese making myself since that's easiest for them). Then when they grind a while and go inactive, shift them to a different role in the /la menu, and tax everything they own. That's like 50k-100k per person, sometimes waaaaay more. 40 inactive members in a claim means like 2-4 million dollars. That's like 3 to 5 armies worth of mercs and will let you dominate.
This is similar to my real life ideology I came up when I was bored whereby 1) everyone gets a lot of free shit like food/housing/healthcare, 2) the government tries to get them to make as much money as possible over the course of their life, 3) the government get 90% of their wealth when they die, 4) the government invests it, and increases the prosperity of the nation. In total, this is a mix of merchantism, socialist principles of collectivization, and naturally, absolutism. I called this crockpot…Corteirism.
Category:Ideologies
Category:Philosophies