If you ruled the world...

[zerowonder]

Bah! I am sooooo bored! Time for some politics.

Just a little fun thing I thought we could do seeing as many of us have a dire outlook on the world today, consider it like a meme in which you can express your distaste and how you would deal with it if you had absolute power. Wanna sentance your brother to a slow, painful death? Done! Do you wish to annihilate the human race? You got it!

1. How would you gain control over the world?
Are you secretly plotting or going in guns blazing? Who will you hire, who will you remove? What skills and tactics will you incorporate; charismatic speeches, diabolical strategy or even...love? Basically, how do you get from where you are now to the top?

2. What will you do once you're in control?
Be creative here. What laws will you set? Will you get an industry to give you free stuff? Where will you live? What type of government will you be, maybe you will invent your own? Will you introduce a new revolutionary education system or research plan? Maybe planet Earth alone isn't big enough. It's all up to you.

3. How will you stay in control?
How will you stay in top shelf? What are your sercurity measures? Threaten rebels with your 'big red button' or offer them a better government? If you're going for the 'love and peace' approach, people will try to take advantage of your passive behaviour. If you're all about authority then the tension between you and your people will be very high. Will you have body-guards and bullet-proof glass, or just point a nuke at anything that looks suspicious?

4. Would you actually do it?
Given the chance, would you sieze it? Is world domination too much for you? Will you allow someone else to take over? Maybe you want to step down just so you can tell all your friends, "Guess what? I was ruler of the world for a week." That certainly would look good on a resume.

I'd like everyone to be creative about this, but also take it seriously to a certain extent. Try not to offend people with overly hateful, judgemental or racist comments, but I think everone here is mature enough to show some restraint on the genocide. I'd like to see someone else's idea before I post my own.

[42zombies]

1. How would you gain control over the world?
Reaching a prime age, I would find a select group of individuals with special skills and certain philosophies and form them into an elite mercenary squad. The world would slowly grow dependant on them. When, finally, the world was at peace and there was utter tranquility *BANG!* hostile takeover! The world's dependance on my mercenaries means there's nobody to resist when they take over.

2. What will you do once you're in control?
I would effectively use my new power to make many illegal drugs legal, but put a large tax on them. Crime would drop and there'd be more money in my pocket. I would then pour that money into scientific research; how to build robot slaves, how to fix the enviroment, how to heal all known diseases, and that sort of thing. Life expectancy is up and, if all goes according to plan, we eventually evolve into a race of hyper-technological beings.

3. How will you stay in control?
My mercenaries will be used to arrest any violent troublemakers and, due to a severe lack of crime and violence, I am generally looked upon as a benevolent ruler. Eventually, I die, but the instructions I pass on to the youngest of the mercenaries tell him how to assemble a new group. He eventually takes my place and, when he dies, the youngest of the new group takes over. I specially selected the mercs so their philosophies and ideals would work with my own. This keeps them busy enough to stop them from rebelling. I also act as a father to the youngest and have the undying loyalty of the least sane member of the group. My empire eventually spreads to cover the galaxy.

4. Would you actually do it?
Yes.

[zerowonder]

You've got a pretty good strategy there, 42. But I do have some criticism for you.

I would find a select group of individuals with special skills and certain philosophies

I'm not sure how easily these people can be found unless you already have some people in mind. And are you actually prepared to go round the world looking for these people?

and form them into an elite mercenary squad

I think it is very unlikely you'll find enough people of your description to make a sustainable group of mercenaries. Another thing is how are you going to train them? What if they don't want to be mercenaries?

The world would slowly grow dependant on them

Well, what makes YOUR group of mercenaries so much better than the rest that the entire world needs them? What if your mecenaries die? What if a mercenary betrays you?

there's nobody to resist when they take over

In politcs there is ALWAYS someone against you. And even if they do take over, how do you know they won't kick you out and keep the world to themselves?

Crime would drop

How? You haven't explained this at all.

I die, but the instructions I pass on to the youngest of the mercenaries tell him how to assemble a new group. He eventually takes my place and, when he dies, the youngest of the new group takes over. I specially selected the mercs so their philosophies and ideals would work with my own

By doing this you end up with a 'chinese whisper' scenario. Eventually your message will be forgotten and the mercs would be drunk with power and start going corrupt. How will you prevent this?

The biggest flaw I can see in this strategy is that you have no back-up plan. What do you do if you can't find enough ideal mercenaries? And even if you do find enough, there will be casualties. How are you going to replace them?
It's an interesting plan, but not very reliable. It was fun to read anyway and that's the reason I made this thread.

[42zombies]

Like I said, there philosphies are specially selected so that they wouldn't betray. Their skills come from being the best in their respective fields-- CIA agents, contract killers, soldiers. The squad I have in mind is small-- seven people at the most. It's the quality that I'm looking for. If one of the mercs betrays me, it's most-likely a part of some much larger Xanatos Gambit and would actually benefit me.

As for the crime-drop from drug legalization, most crime comes from the illegal trafficing of drugs. It's like Prohibition-- the illegalization of alcohol made way for Al Capone and his ilk.

As for the Chinese Whisper scenario, my instructions are properly recorded and passed on to the mercenary of my choosing. With their philosophies, they wouldn't become drunk with power or start going corrupt-- they may, in fact, see themselves above such petty thinking. This would be especially true if I recruit a diehard nihilist who wouldn't see the point in becoming corrupt. The way I'd recruit them would be through their sense of entertainment.

Honestly, I have everything in this scenario planned out. Go ahead-- try me.

[zerowonder]

There is still the matter of actually finding, contacting and convincing them to join you. What could you possibly offer these people who already have good, well-paid jobs? If you plan to have a foundation (like a business) laid out before you execute your take-over, please say so. And how is a squad so small going to shine through all the other competition, let alone take over the world?
Legalizing crime is pretty cheated way of dropping crime, although drug-induced crime would sky-rocket pretty quickly. And legalizing drugs only spreads their effects, so you end up with a society of people who could be under the effects of drugs at any time and addictions will cause people to go bankrupt as they spending all their money on drugs and are distracted from work. You are going to have one helluva recession if people take up drugs en masse, even with tax.
If you really do have everything planned then I'd like to see the WHOLE shazam, not just you pulling out tactics out of the hat everytime you're put on the spot. May I also ask what philosophies you are looking for?

[Felix Falora]

Let's see here...

1: I wouldn't do it.

2: I wouldn't do it.

3: I wouldn't do it.

4: I wouldn't do it.

Maybe when I feel like it, I'll give more thought out responses, but I prefer to gain the trust of a leader and work behind the scenes, probably hinting suggestions here and there that might get my thoughts passed and manifested into existance.