Private Economy

In Civ3, the state controls all resources, and all production. That's of course not very realistic.

There should be a private economy, with fairly radical differences depending on the government type.

Any suggestions?

I think that this idea would work best if you had multiple improvements, of a given type, for each city.

For instance, a city with a population of 20 might have about 8-10 production improvements (mills, factories, mfg plants), 8-10 science/education improvements (libraries, schools, universities) and the like.
It would also work well if you had the economic system described by Trade-Peror in his thread.
One possibility is to have a slider, in a demographics screen, which increases the influence of the private sector. In addition, techs like corporation might also increase private sector influence.
Each turn, there would be a % chance of a member of the private sector offering to purchase some of your improvements. This would give you the benefit of a cash injection, and no maintainance costs, but whatever it used to produce is no longer of any direct benefit to you!
For example, lets say you had 15 production improvements, which produced 40 sheilds/turn and cost you around 200 gold/turn. At the start of a turn, a domestic screen pops up saying that someone in the private sector is offering to buy 8 of your improvements for a price-tag of 1000gp. If you accept, then you get the gold, your costs will drop by 100gpt, but you also lose 20shields/turn. These lost shields might be used, by the 'private sector', to generate money from internal and/or external trade (imagine these shields as consumer goods), or to build their own units and improvements (which you won't control), or they can offer them back to you, for X turns, for a certain 'cost'! Another possibility is that they might simply sell the improvements for cash! Dealing with the 'private sector' would probably work like diplomacy does in Civ3!
Imagine, for instance, if your 'private sector' builds a worker (or generates a sufficient PW budget, depending on the system used) and builds the infrastructure needed to exploit a luxury or strategic resource. (s)he could, in all likelihood, offer to trade this resource to you. If they purchase your educational improvements, then they can discover there own techs, which they can then trade to you!!! Anyway, this is a whole element of the game which offers lots of intriguing possibilities. It could also help to reduce, significantly, the late-game malaise which currently exists.
Anyway, I hope this is what you were talking about wlievens.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

aussie not a bad idea.. private sector is realistic and i think it should be connected with form of goverment.. feudalism and corporation as techs should enchouragee it, nationalism and communism revert.. anyway.. in dem/rep/mon there should be private sector but not in comm/despot/fasc.. there state was above the all..

There is private property in communism, but it is not capitalist private property.

Under communism, conceptually, you may have your property to exploit: but you can't contract people to work for you. Off course it degrades the economic possibilities to what a family can produce. It's a small private economy.

Ahhh, but I think people here are specifically talking about the PRIVATE sector, as represented by small and large business-and corporations. Under communism, collectivism would largely do away with a seperate private sector economy, though the player would still be allowed to adjust the PSI slider up 1 or 2 notches, to simulate a small, possibly even black market, economy!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

I know, in general private economy would be very good, allowing produtcs to be commerced around the world...

Also i'd like in democracies and republics, more control from the parlament and the citizens over what you do...

On that note, i will digress:
Under a Democracy, you will be allowed set various things within the government (please note that I have not decided what sort of effect this might have, but whatever it is, it's a bit subtle:
1. Set as Presidential (U.S.-style) or Parliamentary (British-Style), and name the executive
2. Set the type of legislature: unicameral, bicameral, tricameral, and name the houses.
3. Set the right-left leaning of the government (this is a slider)

Also in the course of the game, various laws will pop up depending on the technological level of your civilization. These can do various things, but for the moment I will concentrate on social programs because they are affected by right-left lean:
Liberal:
Social programs cause increased happiness
Citizens are happier
Cultural bonus to all cities (say, cultural buildings produce more culture)
Scientific bonus
War weariness increased
Some units cost 2 gold per turn to support
In the event of prolonged civil disorder, likely to call for Communism (I'm also trying to say here that when a Democracy or Republic falls, its citizens will decide your government for you)

Centrist: no advantages or disadvantages

Conservative
Some units supported for free
War weariness decreased
Private econ. more lucrative
Social programs less expensive
Social programs less effective than under a Centrist government
There's more.

I would add another sci/lux slider, which would show what is the private sectors input, and the slider position would be determined by the private sector. Also it could be funky if private sector would control some key resources, like iron. They could sell these to AI without your input. Only war/embargo could stop the trade. Or sliding that private sector liberties to 0.

Taking the SMAC-style one step further!

Governments provide the framework for what (and how much) you are allowed to influence. Different sliders will produce the differing results, with more options than simply science/luxury/commerce.

Government philosophies, as they are discovered, could be chosen from in several groups, giving advantages and disadvantages (very much SMAC-like).

On top of it all, you should be able to enact empire-wide policies, as well, which is where encouraging the private sector would pay off. Possibly doing so would lose some productivity (for the empire) but reap huge economic rewards. Or something like that.

I know this sounds complicated, but it really isn't.

This idea can be more fully exploited if another suggestion (from another thread) is also implemented. Instead of having just straight technological discoveries, there should be two separate science paths - one for tech discoveries (bronze working, atomic theory) and another for social/cultural discoveries (philosophy, economics, capitalism, advanced globalization theory, etc).

Thus, while allocating for research, you would have to make decisions as to whether to research iron working, or going for the new social concept that will increase your production.

The entire system will be even better if they get rid of "eras" and go back to a large tech tree; that way you can pick and choose the techs/concepts you want and have more paths through the tree.

Sorry.. this got a little off-track from the original subject. Still, it would allow the incorporation of your idea.