Final Fantasy VII: The Ignored Lesson
Final Fantasy VI is without a doubt my favorite video game and while the game before the one I am blogging about today (that is not a typo, 6, not 7, is my favorite video game of all time) has a significantly higher amount of lessons to be gained about the universe and the meaning of life at large, there is one major lesson from Final Fantasy VII that cannot and must not be ignored. Its a scary, cautionary tale that was relevant in the 90s when the game was first conceived and is even more relevant today than it was then.
Sadly this very important lesson is overshadowed by a very popular Bishōnen, and his significantly cooler master, the Eldritch Abomination Jenova, but today I will be writing not at all about these two. Instead I will be speaking of the force that mirrors a threat so very real in the world we all live in.
Shinra is who I speak of. The direct cause of all the problems within the game, but the warning that this electric company portrays seems to be lost on most of society. Shinra represents Capitalism, unfettered, unstoppable, in all its glory. There is no regulation, there is no government interference, there is only a free market. Just like in reality, “Free Market” is a mask for enslaved populace.
In game, Shinra gains a monopoly on electrical power, a resource that all who live on the Earth depend on for their survival. Just like any corporation that has Capitalism as its creed, Shinra sought to gain complete dominance on a service and take all the production. They maximized profits which anyone familiar with economics already knows, competition only creates a brief spike in sales. The true way to ensure maximum profits is to ensure you are the only option.
Dictators have quoted as saying in recent years that when Government is taken by Corporations, it is then that efficiency for the ruling class is at its premium. Shinra quickly takes over the world once it has complete control of energy on the planet. Quickly there are no governments, no countries, only Shinra.
Any form of competition is quickly stomped out with brutal violence. Any new innovation that goes against Shinra’s vision is quickly burned away. As you read this, you may be thinking that Corporations want friendly competition. You may believe that they genuinely care about the products they sell far more than the money they make from said products. If you genuinely believe the statements that proceed this one, then I have a bridge to sell you.
A question was once asked of me when I spoke about this fear and danger in a public forum. I was asked about if Corporations are so money hungry, why have they not already won? The answer is simple. The regular people, the you and mes of the world stop them each and every time. Also it helps that Governments become elected, usually very anti big business in nature in recent years have busted these organizations apart before they can do harm.
So far Corporations have not stolen this world from us, but Evil only needs to win once, and the battle for what is right is happening right before our eyes.