Who backs the Imperial credit in swtor?

[Ernost]

From this aritcle:

 

-When the Republic established the Galactic Credit Standard, the InterGalactic Banking Clan was its guarantor and distributor.

 

-Muunilinst simultaneously backed the currency of the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars.

 

-Muunilinst later became the financial center of the Galactic Empire. However, unlike other factions the CIS, the Empire wouldn't destroy the IGBC, as it would have set the galaxy into a great recession...the mineral riches of Muunilinst were too important for the stability of Imperial credit.

 

- ...even while a part of the Imperial Remnant, Muunilinst still became the guarantor of the New Republic credit. This infuriated the Moffs, but they were powerless to move against the IGBC without destabilizing the Imperial credit.

 

Now the Sith Empire in swtor was established far from Republic space. In fact most Imperial citizens did not know of its existence until the emperor decides to invade it, So my question is, as the title says, who backs the Imperial Credit in swtor?

[Ravager]

From this aritcle:

Now the Sith Empire in swtor was established far from Republic space. In fact most Imperial citizens did not know of its existence until the emperor decides to invade it, So my question is, as the title says, who backs the Imperial Credit in swtor?

 

I believe you are incorrect regarding the statement that most Imperial citizens did not know the existence of the Republic until the invasion. Clearly, it was well known within the Empire for centuries that they were preparing to retaliate against the Republic. Not only did the Empire send spies and infiltrators to the Republic, but the Imperial society as a whole also spent the entire period from Odile Vaiken's establishment of the Imperial military to the era of Knights of the Old Republic building a war machine to invade. Furthermore, the Emperor's casus belli for invading the Republic before the game starts was to take revenge for the Republic destroying the Sith populace on Korriban and forcing the Sith to rebuild on Dromund Kaas.

 

With that in mind, it is not far-fetched to me to assume the Empire had its own credit currency similar to the Republic's before the war. In the same way the Empire adopted the Aurebesh letter system but gave each symbol a new meaning, it's possible that the Empire had its own currency also called the credit. When they returned, I assume the Empire then began using the Republic standard of currency in an effort to control and regulate planets taken from the Republic.

[Noblis]

I never worry about such things until I'm shopping for a new hyperdrive for my ship.

[Ernost]

I believe you are incorrect regarding the statement that most Imperial citizens did not know the existence of the Republic until the invasion.

 

Yes its possible, but that wasn't my point. My point was that before the war, the empire was economically completely separate from the republic.

 

...it is not far-fetched to me to assume ....that the Empire had its own currency also called the credit.

 

Yes, they did. What I'm trying to say is that that imperial credit would have to be backed by an institution at least as financially powerful as the IGBC, otherwise a person would lose money whenever they needed to exchange Imperial credits for republic credits, i.e. the exchange rate would favor Republic credits heavily.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Ernost

[Beniboybling]

The Ministry of Logistics I would presume, governed by its respective minister and Dark Councillor: Darth Vowrawn. To quote the SWTOR Encyclopedia:

 

Efficiency, regulation, and supply are the key duties of the Ministry of Logistics. As the vast Imperial society works to strengthen the Empire, Logistics guarantees the health of its economy and keeps the population well fed and supplied with the tools necessary to serve.

 

So I would assume that whomever backs the Imperial credit is a nationalized banking organisation and one under the complete control of the Empire - given the fact it is an authoritarian state.

 

Hope this helps.

[AlexDougherty]

From this aritcle:

 

Now the Sith Empire in swtor was established far from Republic space. In fact most Imperial citizens did not know of its existence until the emperor decides to invade it, So my question is, as the title says, who backs the Imperial Credit in swtor?

 

It's an armed military Empire with thousands of Ships and guns, it's economy is on a war footing even when it's at peace, it backs itself, who in their right mind is going to ask what guarantees it's money has.

[Euphrosyne]

It's an armed military Empire with thousands of Ships and guns, it's economy is on a war footing even when it's at peace, it backs itself, who in their right mind is going to ask what guarantees it's money has.

Imperial credits: they're apparently worth about as much as Soviet certificate rubles?

[BradTheImpaler]

Go ahead, tell a Sith his currency is worthless and see what happens.

[Euphrosyne]

Go ahead, tell a Sith his currency is worthless and see what happens.

Insane gibbering based on a lack of understanding of economics, and/or homicidal rage?

[BradTheImpaler]

Insane gibbering based on a lack of understanding of economics, and/or homicidal rage?

 

In a manner of speaking, perhaps.

My point is that when you're dealing with a sentient superweapon with homicidal rage, pointed straight at you, you're dealing with offers you can't refuse regardless of the value of a currency. Though dealing with trade inside the Empire itself is another story.

Edited May 11, 2013 by BradTheImpaler

[Trimaxion]

Insane gibbering based on a lack of understanding of economics, and/or homicidal rage?

 

More insane than the idea that a single planet or system could effectively back all the credit in a galaxy spanning empire?

 

If we adopted a global currency would a single country back that? Could one country, even Germany, back the euro alone?

[Euphrosyne]

In a manner of speaking, perhaps.

My point is that when you're dealing with a sentient superweapon with homicidal rage, pointed straight at you, you're dealing with offers you can't refuse regardless of the value of a currency. Though dealing with trade inside the Empire itself is another story.

Hey, all a Sith can do to you is kill you. Plenty of other people have tried that particular method of controlling prices and currencies throughout history - the Roman Emperor Diocletianus, for instance, or the French revolutionaries, or approximately every Chinese emperor ever. Didn't work for them, either.

More insane than the idea that a single planet or system could effectively back all the credit in a galaxy spanning empire?

 

If we adopted a global currency would a single country back that? Could one country, even Germany, back the euro alone?

Point.

 

Canonical sources are semi-contradictory on the way the credit actually works. It's said that the credit is legal tender issued by the IGBC, and that it's supposedly backed by the wealth of Muunilinst and Mygeeto (even though neither of these worlds a) represent the totality or even a plurality of the IGBC's resources and b) is even connected into the rest of the Republic's infrastructure by the time of the Cold War). Muunilinst itself possessed financial resources largely on the basis of an extractive resource economy, something that's implausible as the foundation of an entire galactic currency.

 

It seems to me that, at least in the pre-Ruusan era, the IGBC as an entity working closely with (but not under the direct control of) the Republic government - much like the Reichsbank or Bank of England in fin de siècle Europe - backs and manages the credit, not solely on the basis of the Muunilinst economy alone, which seems prima facie ridiculous. The IGBC possessed varying measures of control over banking institutions throughout the entire galaxy, on Aargau, Palanhi, Coruscant, Niro, and so on. Furthermore, I'm sure that the amount of control and influence the Republic had over monetary policy waxed and waned over the millennia; at some points, the credit may have been backed by confidence in the economy of the Core Worlds entire.

[AlexDougherty]

Hey, all a Sith can do to you is kill you. Plenty of other people have tried that particular method of controlling prices and currencies throughout history - the Roman Emperor Diocletianus, for instance, or the French revolutionaries, or approximately every Chinese emperor ever. Didn't work for them, either.

 

Actually a Sith could probably kill you, your family, your city and maybe even the whole planet. Also the Roman Empire ran it's economy along similar lines to the Sith Empire, if a country didn't trade with them they invaded, mind you if a country did trade with them, they invaded most of the time anyway, just later.

 

Unless you have a huge fleet behind you, your planet has to accept the Imperial Credit. So during this era most planets can either be part of the Republic and hope the Ruplic Army defends them, or trade with the Sith Empire, and probably get incorporated into it as well. (yes I know the hutts are neutral, that's why it's most planets not all)

Edited May 12, 2013 by AlexDougherty

[Trimaxion]

I would suggest that the best way to reconcile what we know of the canon with plausibility is that originally the IGBC/muunilist or whoever had a monopoly on some incredibly rare resource which it leveraged for control of imperial/republic banking and now backs the credit on behalf of the government/s by managing supply.

 

One or more galactic empires maintaining what would effectively be a gold standard seems impossible. It's also pointless if you've only got ONE currency.

 

Of course it could be that there are many planetary currencies but that the IGBC maintains convertibility and adjusts rates on the fly so that all transfers APPEAR to be in a universal currency?

[Euphrosyne]

Actually a Sith could probably kill you, your family, your city and maybe even the whole planet. Also the Roman Empire ran it's economy along similar lines to the Sith Empire, if a country didn't trade with them they invaded, mind you if a country did trade with them, they invaded most of the time anyway, just later.

 

Unless you have a huge fleet behind you, your planet has to accept the Imperial Credit. So during this era most planets can either be part of the Republic and hope the Ruplic Army defends them, or trade with the Sith Empire, and probably get incorporated into it as well. (yes I know the hutts are neutral, that's why it's most planets not all)

The Roman Empire's economy was based on the immense agricultural and mining output (with some manufactures) of between fifty and a hundred million souls. It utterly dwarfed the economies of every single society everywhere near it. The same conditions do not apply, even mutatis mutandis, to the Sith. People traded with Rome because Rome produced or bought pretty much everything worth having. People used Roman currency because it was effectively the only game in town. The Sith do not produce pretty much everything worth having in the galaxy, and they certainly did not do so when they were relegated to a tiny slice of space in the Outer Rim, before the first war. And Sith Imperial currency is far from the only game in town.

I would suggest that the best way to reconcile what we know of the canon with plausibility is that originally the IGBC/muunilist or whoever had a monopoly on some incredibly rare resource which it leveraged for control of imperial/republic banking and now backs the credit on behalf of the government/s by managing supply.

 

One or more galactic empires maintaining what would effectively be a gold standard seems impossible. It's also pointless if you've only got ONE currency.

 

Of course it could be that there are many planetary currencies but that the IGBC maintains convertibility and adjusts rates on the fly so that all transfers APPEAR to be in a universal currency?

I agree with the first and second paragraphs. I like the third paragraph's ideas - that's more or less what BioWare did in the Mass Effect lore with the volus - but there's unfortunately not much evidence in favor of it until after the Battle of Endor.

[Noblis]

Understanding Earth history is wonderful. Enlightened people learn from the past to understand the present and

anticipate (to some extent) the future.

 

Star Wars Universe is a mutable saga. Sometimes there is no "why" or "how" behind things. There is nothing

wrong with looking for an explanation but one will never find a correct answer. The correct answer does not exist.

 

Remember how fans wanted to know how Palpatine took over the Republic? The answer to this could only be

explained through politics. What was the biggest gripe about Episode 1 (besides Jar Jar?) Too much politics !

 

The answer to the question of this thread can only be answered through economics. How many complaints from

fans will that bring? A feature film that looks like a grant petition from University of Oxford's Department of

Economics. Exciting?

Padmé had twins.

 

[Ernost]

... there's unfortunately not much evidence in favor of it until after the Battle of Endor.

 

Actually they were doing this as early as the Clone Wars.

 

From: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/InterGalactic_Banking_Clan

During the years of the Separatist Crisis ...the IGBC was creating new currencies at a rate of twenty per day, with the InterGalactic Currency Exchange System managing the currency.

[Euphrosyne]

Fair enough. Still a long way off from the game's setting, though.

[ColaWindstar]

Who backs the Imperial Credit? The Sith threatening the shopkeeper with a lightsaber or force choke/lightning.

[Trimaxion]

I suppose in reality the question is WHAT backs ANY form of credit...

 

 

Confidence.

 

The belief that it will be accepted at a (relatively) set rate and that it is difficult to forge or otherwise devalue.

 

The with started on a single planet where obviously their currency was accepted, as they took over more planets they gathered up local currency and replaced it with their own, the locals had no choice but to accept the new credits and so the currency spread covering the empire.

 

What are you gonna use if NOT the imperial credit?

[Master-Nala]

Why do we believe that the Empire has its own currency? Maybe they have adopted the Republic credit as their currency.

[BrianDavion]

I think it's best to consider by time line. prior to the invasion of the Republic the Imperial credit was proably essentially a fiat currancy. "the credit is worth this much because we say it is" following the star of the great galatic war, The Empire gained a large amount of territory and entered the galatic stage. the first decade or so it was proably a bit rough. but I imagine extange rates still existed etc. still that extange rate likely only applies for certin things chances are there's still a lot of "price controls" in the empire.

[Trimaxion]

Why do we believe that the Empire has its own currency? Maybe they have adopted the Republic credit as their currency.

Wouldn't that create massive supply problems?

 

I mean they're essentially at war with the entity regulating their currency supply, they'd have to smuggle all their currency through the Hutts AND trade raw materials for it, they'd need an empire worth of raw materials to get the currency for the empire...

[Master-Nala]

Wouldn't that create massive supply problems?

 

I mean they're essentially at war with the entity regulating their currency supply, they'd have to smuggle all their currency through the Hutts AND trade raw materials for it, they'd need an empire worth of raw materials to get the currency for the empire...

 

I don't think so. There's clearly trade going on between the Empire and the Republic even as the war has broken out again. And prior to the Sacking of Coruscant, there's no reason that the Empire wouldn't have had traders trading with the Hutts and Republic fringe worlds. Using a currency everyone knows would have been best.

[Trimaxion]

I understand that there's always be a flow of goods and credits between the two empires over so vast and fluctiating a border I just think you're underestimating what would be necessary for them both to be on the same currency,

 

Any change in the power of one empire would need t be matched by a massive movement if credits to reflect that or you'd have a problem of too many resources and not enough currency creating massive price changes. The republic could either flood or starve the market In The empire any time it wanted.

 

I can't see it, unless you know of an example in earths history that would parallel it I don't think it would be workable.