[The Boz]

All the novels I've lead me to believe that there are no corporations in the Imperium of Man, no free market, and that the economy works like some kind of socialist hypercommunist ultranationalism. But every now and then there is some freighter captain speaking about lucrative businesses, or a planteray gorvernor talking about some expensive investment, or a hive going bankrupt because a competing hive produces the same goods cheaper.
How does the Imperium of Man exactly work, economically?

 

[ckcrawford]

All the novels I've lead me to believe that there are no corporations in the Imperium of Man, no free market, and that the economy works like some kind of socialist hypercommunist ultranationalism. But every now and then there is some freighter captain speaking about lucrative businesses, or a planteray gorvernor talking about some expensive investment, or a hive going bankrupt because a competing hive produces the same goods cheaper.
How does the Imperium of Man exactly work, economically?

Thats not entirely true. There aren't corportations persae, but there are privateteers around going to get goods and selling them to the Imperium for a nice buck. In Soul Hunter the navigator obtained by the Night Lords in the beginning was working for some guy who was in an asteroid field looking for raw material to sell to the Imperium.

 

[The Boz]

But sell it for what?

 

[ckcrawford]

space bucks, imperial credit, I don't know. I'd have to go look it up. I imagine it would be some form of currency.

 

[Vaz]

It's the return of the Tramp Steamer age. Basically, it's one whole Communist wet dream - everything they have goes towards the war effort with the Tithe System. Basically what you make, 5% goes towards the Administratum - of which that goes to fighting the Nazi's, erm, Orks n shit. The rest you get to sell yourselves.

Gold, or Credits, only has an effect within the planets themselves, where they purchase luxuries or supplies from off world.

Then again, there are other things which provide aid - such as services. There are your typical female services, obviously (or male, if you swing that way), but then there's also protection, transport, navigation) etc, which generates money.

For example, House Belisarius provides the Warp navigation for the Space Wolf chapter. If they didn't, the Astropaths would find either employment aboard the Imperial Warships, or have to sell themselves aboard warp capable mercenary vessels, or merchant vessels.

 

[X FiftY 1ne]

Yeah, I've never heard of any corporations being in the lore of Warhammer 40k. Although I have not read ADB's Soul Hunter yet. It's on my shelf but I'm finishing up the Word Bearers saga before I start a new book.

Although in the HH series I've seen the occasional tax collector, so the Imperium does use some form of money. For what, I would assume the building of war machines and such. Not really much information on this subject though.

 

[Brother Subtle]

Well the emperor is basically a tyrant... Let's be honest. Free trade is the last thing on his agenda. The imperium is communism on a galactic scale. As for currency, that would differ between world. Products and tangible goods are what the imperium want, not goats teeth or precious metals in coin form.

 

[dewn_moutain]

actually, its set up like china. its a "communist" government, but it has as strong capitalist backbone. there was an old article in an old white dwarf where a guy asked why didnt the imperium just use asteroids for orbital bombardments instead of ICBM missles. the answer: "COST". it cost 6mil Imperial credits to build the missle vs the 21mil credits for the cost of the frigate's fuel, the crewmembers pay, the food, the effort, the paint to "nudge" the asteroid on its way.

so overall, its "everyone is equal" in the eyes of the imperium and its demands of tithes. but, for everything else, its capitalist.

 

[Captain Galus]

Rogue Traders. Need more be said?

Given free reign by the Emperor (or whoever ends up signing all those Warrants) to travel the galaxy and make ludicrous profit as they see fit. They're basically the CEOs of their own private multi-planetary corporations.

 

[ckcrawford]

Well I wouldn't say the Imperium has ever been truly "communist." Even during the Heresy you can see that their is difference in classes. You got rich bastards and not rich bastards. In one of the Word Bearer saga books, the dude who's saving those people from the dark eldar only saved those who were willing to pay a hefty fee. And lol, they still all died. hahaha

 

[Hired Goon]

In the book Nemesis it goes into the people who run trade.
While I would love to tell you the guy and his groups name my brother has my copy.

 

[Serpion5]

Rogue Traders are essentially the merchant wing of the Imperium. They have trade routes between worlds, where the specialised goods of one world might find use on another. They generally seem to operate outside the bounds of the base necessities (food, tithe, supplies etc.), trading in luxuries, courier services, occasionally as passenger freight, for whatever price they and their client agree on. Thgis is about a close to capitalism as the Imperium gets, everything else being regulated by the Administratum on individual planets and systems.

 

[Giant Fossil Penguin]

There are loads of corporation in the 40k verse. The Eisenhorn trology talks about rich people and the companies they are part of. Nemesis talks about a huge company owned by a Rogue Trader clan, clan Eurotas. The Ravenor trilogy mentions the hive elite and the way they earn their cash.
I don't know where this idea of no corps comes from. Get away from books that are about Guard/Astartes actions, and that talk about more of the everyday life of the Imperium and you see them everywhere. The Carnivora circus from one of the Ravenor (I think) books will be privately owned. If there is one on one planet, you can guarantee that there will be others like it around the galaxy, maybe part of a chain, maybe not. There will be private comapnies that make the posh clothes that the hive nobility wear, the weapons they carry, sell the posh food they eat. There will be real-estate companies that sell stuff outside the hives, farm co-operatives and car dealerships. There is absolutely no way the Imperium could function with centralised industry on a one-size-fits-all model. Each planet will have its own needs and wants and will have its own long-held ways of getting things done. Private corps will have been instrumental in binding planets into the fabric of the Imperium, the growing economy bringing planets together as they start to provide things that each needs.
So, there has to be corporations in 40k, or the Imperium couldn't function economically.

GFP

 

[Child-of-the-Emperor]

There are loads of corporation in the 40k verse. The Eisenhorn trology talks about rich people and the companies they are part of. Nemesis talks about a huge company owned by a Rogue Trader clan, clan Eurotas. The Ravenor trilogy mentions the hive elite and the way they earn their cash.
I don't know where this idea of no corps comes from. Get away from books that are about Guard/Astartes actions, and that talk about more of the everyday life of the Imperium and you see them everywhere. The Carnivora circus from one of the Ravenor (I think) books will be privately owned. If there is one on one planet, you can guarantee that there will be others like it around the galaxy, maybe part of a chain, maybe not. There will be private comapnies that make the posh clothes that the hive nobility wear, the weapons they carry, sell the posh food they eat. There will be real-estate companies that sell stuff outside the hives, farm co-operatives and car dealerships. There is absolutely no way the Imperium could function with centralised industry on a one-size-fits-all model. Each planet will have its own needs and wants and will have its own long-held ways of getting things done. Private corps will have been instrumental in binding planets into the fabric of the Imperium, the growing economy bringing planets together as they start to provide things that each needs.
So, there has to be corporations in 40k, or the Imperium couldn't function economically.

GFP

What the Penguin said, took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[Davidicus 40k]

Mr. Giant Fossil Penguin is correct. "Corporations" can be called plenty of things, but my favorite is guilds/houses. And when they're big, they're BIG. If anyone has ever played EVE Online, I liken the Imperium to a healthy mix between the Caldari State and the Amarr Empire (those two factions just so happen to be "allied" in the game. It's a good mix).

 

[5tonsledge]

its sounds like a monarchy. a king his knights and a bunch of people working for the king. the king being the emperor of course and all of humanity being his country.

 

[forkmaster]

Talking about currency, Ive read the reference to Imperial credits and Imperial crowns.

 

[Spiz101]

I got the impression from my, admittedly paltry, collection of 40k literature that the Imperium functioned some sort of hybrid free-market/state controlled system akin to a "War Economy".... which is appropriate I think.

 

[The Boz]

Well, thanks to everyone who replied. Things are so much clearer now.

 

[ROT]

I still don't understand where people are pulling communism from...
2 words completely contradicts that theory...

The Emperor...

You can't be communist whilst being led by someone, thats why communism is unrealistic... it can't work because someone's always got to be incharge... and if someone is incharge then its not communism..

The Imperium is a dictatorship, you do as the emperor says, or die. Thats how the Horus Heresy started, and that's why the Imperium's Tyrant is but a shrivelled up old crone.

40k Politics gogogo.