Culture of the Liamist States

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People & Demographics

Nationality: Liamist(s)

Adjective: Liamist

  • Age structure - 0-14 years: 22.0%, 15-64 years: 54.2%, 65 years and over: 23.8%
  • Gender structure - Male: 51.2%, Female: 48.8%
  • Population growth - 0.07%
  • Life expectancy - Male: 84.5 years, Female: 88.2 years
  • Birth/Death rate (per million) - 12.22/10.38
  • Fertility - 1.12 children/woman
  • Immigration/Emmigration (per million) - 7.42/1.03
  • Background - 89% Liamist, 7% Tableleg, 4% Other*
  • Primary Languages - 45% English, 34% Tablelandian, 11% Old Liamist, 7% French, 3% Other**
  • Religion - 69% Atheist/Agnostic, 24% Liamist, 7% Other


Liamism

Liamism is the essential embodiment of all things Liam. Liamism can be taken in one of two ways:

Liamism Lifestyle

As a lifestyle philosophy, Liamism has shaped all of the peoples of the Liamist States. It essentially means that people are proud of all things that they are associated with but respectful of one another. The Liamists are proud of their nation, what it has achieved, its culture but also themselves, their achievements, their families and any institutions that they are a part of. They are not blinded by this pride, frequently recognising problems that are swiftly addressed and corrected, making the Liamists some of the most progressive people in NationStates.

While many strike up rivalries with people in opposing factions, it is usually friendly and restricted to verbal slinging matches. That is, of course, unless they are not officially a Liamist and still considered foreign, where they will usually be considered fairly culturally deficient and lacking the knowledge any Liamist should know. These foreigners are not excluded for their deficiency but brought in closer to social groups for Liamist training. Those who cannot be trained or are still foreign are ostracised. The Liamists as such are often perceived as arrogant people.

Liamism is also a very individualist philosophy with a strong sense of self-belief that leads to most Liamists thinking that they are the most important person who is in control of their own destiny. Despite this reality-grounded self-importanism, most will happily discomfort themselves for the gain of another needier person. Liamists recognise the individual, such as Liam himself, as the one who is often responsible for mass ripples of change through history.

Liamists tend to be hardworking. While they work thirty hour weeks, enjoying every minute they get away from work, they often achieve what most nationalities do in forty or even fifty hours of work. If work needs doing during breaks in work time, Liamists will often forgo personal needs to get their jobs done.

Liamism Religion

As a religion, Liamism embodies all the above beliefs as the word of Liam, who is considered an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing being. He is responsible for the creation of the universe and the setting up of the laws of physics, which he can change at any time. It was prophecised that he would be born in the year 1992, in Australia. It was said that He would take the form of a dark-haired brown-eyed male and through his actions he would save the world from destruction and lead humanity to world peace.

Many people refute this as the truth and as such, many of the Liamists are either atheistic or agnostic (unsure of whether religion is false, Liamism is the path or whether another minority religion is the way). Under a quarter of the population confirms themselves as Liamists, refusing to accept Liam’s own testimony that Liamism was actually a method of grabbing power when the Liamist States was first formed and instead pointing out his somewhat mythical (and subject to many conspiracy theories) longevity.

Urbanism

Urbanism is the prevailing social thought in the Liamist States. It involves the abolition of small localities in favour of establising large metropolises. This more of a general social movement than any governmental program, policy or legislation. Benefits are mostly related to environmental factors but some social benefits are also apparent. Environmentally, electricity is centralised and so power is saved via a lack of line resistance. Public transport is almost compulsory, as taxes on private vehicles are astronomical. Combine these with advances in recycling, heat retension, conduction and conversion to electricity, pollution control and restrictive zoning for industrial manufacturing, increasingly efficient water strategies and the hydroponification in agriculture and the increasing nuclearisation of energy production, means that the Liamist States Empire is almost heat, water and carbon neutral. Socially, due to the melting pot and lax immigration laws, racism is a thing of the past. Teenagers are also not a problem, having adequate entertainment and not having to turn to substance abuse or undereducated unsafe sex.

Urbanism became popular toward the end of the Reformation. Technological advances had made an Urban lifestyle an efficient and environmentally conscious choice. People flocked to the cities in ever greater numbers and abandoned the little towns. The mass humanity feel was contrasted with open spaced archetecture to prevent a feeling of oppression. Liamists were soon reveling in their own culture which has led to the Liamists becoming one of the most culturally proud peoples in NationStates.

There are six stages of Urbanisation:

  • Rural - Very low population density. Dwellings are hundreds of kilometres apart. Inefficient facility reproductions.
  • Fringal - Low population density. Dwellings on acreage and hundreds of metres apart. Some local commercial development present. Combination of Rural and SubUrban.
  • SubUrban - Low population density. Dwellings metres apart. Local commercial development present. Some facility sharing.
  • Urban - Medium population density. Dwellings stacked to several stories. Local commercial develpoment is usually a part of dwellings. Public transport (usually an electric bus system that runs along train lines or EBS) integrated underneath developments.
  • SuperUrban - High population density. Dwellings stacked to tens of stories. Roads closed to cars, pedestrian only. Long distance travel is reliant on EBS. Water extensively recycled. Buildings further apart, releasing the sense of oppression and are integrated with greenery to beautify the canton or city.
  • MegaUrban - Very high population density. Dwellings are in skyscraper form. Pedestrians walk on roads for short distance travel. Heading down to moving walkways on a subterrean level for medium distance travel and use the EBS (famous for running a bus every two minutes along a line) for long distance.



Language

Language is a defining characteristic of a people. The Liamists, a product of their education, are very quick to pick up languages and are usually fluent in at least two. Four languages are recognised as official in the Liamist States:

  • English: Typical and nearly universal language of the NS World.
  • French: A very popular language in Liamopolis particularly, originating from the influence of the natives in the area. It has spread to just about all parts of the LSE, noticeably in the naming of the Centrale Cantons.
  • Tablelandian: The official common language of the nations of the Liamist States’ region, The Tableland. Basically, a modified version of English but without t’s and e’s. It is a very unusual language to hear spoken.
  • Old Liamist: Originating somewhere during the Dark Ages, Old Liamist appears at first to be simply gibberish. It became popular throughout the slums of Trenport, where it remains more common than all but English with several Cantons are named in Old Liamist. While its creation and spread is mysterious, research has uncovered that Old Liamist is actually based on a seemingly random Caesar Cipher and many experts believe that it was simply a joke that got out of hand. Below is the conversion (English -> Old Liamist):
    • A -> L
    • B -> C
    • C -> (Soft C) F, (Hard C) Y
    • D -> K
    • E -> D
    • F -> G
    • G -> I
    • H -> U
    • I -> O
    • J -> P
    • K -> Y
    • L -> R
    • M -> A
    • N -> A
    • O -> J
    • P -> Z
    • Q -> YW
    • R -> S
    • S -> F
    • T -> X
    • U -> V
    • V -> M
    • W -> W
    • X -> N
    • Y -> H
    • Z -> B

Examples:

  • English: I love you
  • French: Je t’aime
  • Tablelandian: I lov’ you
  • Old Liamist: O rjmd hjv