Flag Challenge #267: Capitalist symbolism
Communist states can often be easily identified by their flag. (Red color, five-pointed star, hammer and sickle variations, etc.)
Your task is to design a flag that immediately shows that the state is capitalist.
Communist states can often be easily identified by their flag. (Red color, five-pointed star, hammer and sickle variations, etc.)
Your task is to design a flag that immediately shows that the state is capitalist.
Entry 1 said:
The flag of the North American Confederacy has become intimately associated with the nation's practice of unfettered capitalism and has encouraged the use of its cowrie shell symbol and color palette when financing adventure capitalists (read: filibusters) opening up new market opportunities in statist areas. In the wake of Shay's Rebellion and the execution of George Washington on charges of treason the United States underwent a drastic reformation to bring itself in line with the prevailing attitudes that government should only act with the unanimous consent of the governed. The Articles of Confederation were retained rather than abolished and the North American Confederation was born, adopting as its symbol a new "civilian flag" to distinguish it from the budding statism of the early American experiment. Originally the field contained blue stars on a white field to represent the states but as power shifted from the hierarchical realm of governments to the free association of individuals in the market it was decided that a new symbol was needed to represent this new reality. Yellow had long been a symbolic color of liberty and prosperity and recent advances in chemistry had led to the creation of cheap dyes to bring formerly rare and exorbitantly expensive purple to the masses but what of the symbol? It was eventually decided that the cowrie shell, an ancient and widespread form of currency, made an excellent representation of this new state of affairs. The former Iroquois peoples had made use of a similar shell currency that actually was a shade of purple, making the association even stronger! The "Shell and Stripes" became quite popular with the citizens of the Confederacy despite its association with dreaded government and it can be seen even today flying over everything from private homes and businesses to the nation's bustling merchant marine and slave markets. I've never read The Probability Broach but the whole "AnCap leads to utopia" premise always struck me as half-baked so here's my take on it.
Entry 2 said:
THE CORPORATIST REPUBLIC OF AMERICA
EST. 1933
Was going to do a write-up but got hit with my end-of-term paper today. Long story short: PoD involves the Business Plot establishing a corporate/fascist-influenced State. How long it lasts is a good question...
Cog represents industry; the dollar sign the profit derived from it in contrast to its use in Communist insignia. The vertical stripes represent ascendancy to wealth and success, as well as the original 13 on the US flag; the stars represent the glory of both personal success and the system as a whole, as well as the fifty on the US flag. Not much to say about their arrangement- this was the most asethetically pleasing way I could find to distribute 50 over 13.
Entry 3 said:
(Based on “They Live” by John Carpenter, feat. Roddy Piper)
A quick and terrible flag (ouch my eyes!) to bulk up entry numbers.
In the 1980s, the USA runs on the Laisse-faire system of capitalism and “Reagan-omics”, Aliens have settled on Earth seeking to exploit the newly identified global warming phenomenon to make Earth more like their own, dying planet. You would have thought that Human leaders would have fought to prevent this, but no. They saw the chance to collaborate with the Aliens and make a quick Buck on it too.
There is an underground movement against the Aliens, however, the majority of the population see these people as conspiracy nuts or worse…communists! This will change soon, through the efforts of a drifter who happens upon LA. This drifter, Nada, and a band of resistance fighters may have a way to expose the Aliens and their human collaborators, to regain the Earth.
Flag Design:
- Gold Background to symbolise the “get rich quick” attitude permeating America;
- The Green Square to symbolise the colour of the US Dollars;
- C is for Capitalism;
- 8 comes from the common lifestyle standard of 8 hours work, 8 hours sleep and 8 hours play for every American every day;
- The star is a sub-conscious nod to the fact that the real control is with the Aliens; and
- The national slogan of “Buy, Consume, Obey” in the font of uber-capitalist Coca Cola, reminding the population of their role in society.