Trade vs. Manufacturing

After reading chapter 4 of “The Making of Economic Society,” I started to think about my successful civilization game. Trade was very helpful for me at the beginning of my game but when I started to dominate there was nothing my allies had to offer that was of any use. I became so advanced that I already had all of the trading goods that others had to offer. Just like the industrial revolution in England, I was in demand and I had broken off from rest of continents because there were of no use to me. Just like England, I became interested in new technology (gadgets, devices, and machines) to give me an edge amongst surrounding civilization.

As a result, I have observed that trade was very important on getting ahead at the beginning of my game but manufacturing was key to bringing my civilization to a whole new level. My battleships, cargo ships, and fighter planes were a result of my advanced manufacturing that helped lead to my success. I am not saying that trade is bad, its just that it became of new use to me once manufacturing took place just like the industrial revolution.