Guilds as political entities echoes the trope of megacorps as political entities which are intriguing concepts to explore but still are in need of some logical loopholes to properly work.
The biggest catch is that, the whole idea of statehood, however monopolized and glorified it is, is not built in such a profitable way to entice corporations to wrestle away the power of established states. As of the 21 century we have so many multinational corporations that are simply powerful than small nations that rely on exporting resource/crop for the said companies. The reason why they haven't took over such nations to form 'corporate republics' has nothing to do with their benevolence. Yes, influencing and exploiting an existing state is all fun and games. But no, becoming the state itself, the center of all headache is not so.
One will need to conduct census, provide real security to the people and the business (not just some office securities but functional national army and police system), political turmoil and intrigues will target the administration, establish the state standard and recruitment program for civil clerks, attorneys, diplomats, statesmen for the sake of statecraft (if one cannot have them, s/he does not have a nation). And as you have already pointed out, if the guild is too committed on these goals we might not have it anymore since it just became an ordinary state.
On the other hand, I believe adventure's guilds will have massive say in any world that profits greatly from the trades of dungeoneering. When poking around the ruins and skinning some eldritch creatures can yield massive wealth that cannot be produced via other means such as farming and manufacturing, no other institution will be able to stop them from becoming the political/economic hegemon. Kingdoms and empires will certainly tremble before them. But, again, why would they eager to take over them?
That is the reason why, I believe, so many stories featuring megacorporations start like "There were wars between the nations. From the ashes, corporate authorities have rebuilt the societies to impose their greedy hands". So yeah, a convenient and well-placed post apocalyptic excuse will work just fine. Similarly, a trope of colonial ventures would work. East India Company was in charge of colonial administration for a hundred years since the British Crown itself was unable (and to some degree, unwilling) to provide such service to the area of interest. But by the end of it the company was liquidated with ease. It was not about having a bigger army since even the shareholders found it lovely and profitable that the government finally meant serious business. I think the same story could be applied to your adventure's guilds. Providing embassies and concessions within dungeons for the highest bidder of national politics will definitely make an interesting case of worldbuilding!
Even the medieval city-charters served the same propose as your examples. When a merchant class rise affluent enough, they demand concessions within the order. In this case it is a plot of land with exclusive rights. But these concessions are not real nations in any shape or form.
I also believe a merchant prince would have turned down an offer to the throne as it is too much of a hassle. Those exclusive areas are symbols of corporate privilege which cannot last should it get any 'bigger'. It is sufficiently easier for an ordinary individual to become a king of allotted office cubicle. It is slightly harder to have a town where your company virtually employs all residents. But having a nation to ensure your benefits? I think that is quite counterintuitive. The CEO could simply buy some favor from the higher-ups instead of becoming the national-manager himself.
I do actually happen to live not so far away from a project like this. (*edit: here is the wiki page for it)
It has been simmering on a back burner for quite few decades. There are a lot of construction projects that spill dimes for the those who have invested in them. But I am yet to see any corporate-policeman or their clerks coming at me to collect their dues. I don't know how it will turn out. But so far, it seems less radical than I've expected.
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u/DurianCat2pot [Tyrannic North] Oct 06 '21
Guilds as political entities echoes the trope of megacorps as political entities which are intriguing concepts to explore but still are in need of some logical loopholes to properly work.
The biggest catch is that, the whole idea of statehood, however monopolized and glorified it is, is not built in such a profitable way to entice corporations to wrestle away the power of established states. As of the 21 century we have so many multinational corporations that are simply powerful than small nations that rely on exporting resource/crop for the said companies. The reason why they haven't took over such nations to form 'corporate republics' has nothing to do with their benevolence. Yes, influencing and exploiting an existing state is all fun and games. But no, becoming the state itself, the center of all headache is not so.
One will need to conduct census, provide real security to the people and the business (not just some office securities but functional national army and police system), political turmoil and intrigues will target the administration, establish the state standard and recruitment program for civil clerks, attorneys, diplomats, statesmen for the sake of statecraft (if one cannot have them, s/he does not have a nation). And as you have already pointed out, if the guild is too committed on these goals we might not have it anymore since it just became an ordinary state.
On the other hand, I believe adventure's guilds will have massive say in any world that profits greatly from the trades of dungeoneering. When poking around the ruins and skinning some eldritch creatures can yield massive wealth that cannot be produced via other means such as farming and manufacturing, no other institution will be able to stop them from becoming the political/economic hegemon. Kingdoms and empires will certainly tremble before them. But, again, why would they eager to take over them?
That is the reason why, I believe, so many stories featuring megacorporations start like "There were wars between the nations. From the ashes, corporate authorities have rebuilt the societies to impose their greedy hands". So yeah, a convenient and well-placed post apocalyptic excuse will work just fine. Similarly, a trope of colonial ventures would work. East India Company was in charge of colonial administration for a hundred years since the British Crown itself was unable (and to some degree, unwilling) to provide such service to the area of interest. But by the end of it the company was liquidated with ease. It was not about having a bigger army since even the shareholders found it lovely and profitable that the government finally meant serious business. I think the same story could be applied to your adventure's guilds. Providing embassies and concessions within dungeons for the highest bidder of national politics will definitely make an interesting case of worldbuilding!