Disco Elysium's Examination of Communism

So...last year, I took a break from ranting during June, because May had been an especially difficult month for me at work.  And, unfortunately, May this year was basically a little worse than last.  So...yeah, I think I'm gonna have to take another break this year to recoup my rant stock a bit.  And if I'm being honest, it's pretty likely that this is going to be a regular thing with June going forward for this blog.  Sorry, guys, but I've just been too wiped out from work to focus on the things that don't matter that really matter to me.  I'll at least leave you with a rant I think is 1 of my better ones, though.  See y'all come July!



Disco Elysium is an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful RPG that, to me, is the first true successor to the creative and philosophical perfection of Planescape: Torment, and in many ways, writing a rant about it is just as difficult to me as doing so for PT would be.  For starters, I legitimately don’t feel smart enough to weigh in on a lot of the game’s ideas, beliefs, and story content; I can keep up with it to my satisfaction, but trying to stake an intellectual claim in Disco Elysium’s substance is daunting.  Also, frankly, it’s the kind of game that a great many extremely sharp individuals have already written analyses, treatises, and theories about, so my own fumbling efforts to describe the excellence with which DE portrays the virtues, necessity, and tragically inescapable nature of failure, or its flawless use of the theme of impermanence and legacy, are inevitably going to just be retreading the same ground that was already explored better anyway.  Sit me down with a very intelligent but not absolutely brilliant game like Fallout 4 or New Vegas, or Tales of Berseria, and I’ll have plenty to work with.  Lock me in a room with some ridiculous, nonsensical idiocy like Xenosaga 3 or Chrono Cross, and I’ll beat a few rants out of it in no time.  But stuff like Nier: Automata, Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Nights 2’s Mask of the Betrayer DLC, Planescape: Torment, and Disco Elysium?  I might get lucky and squeeze out a couple rants, but there's only so much I can do with them because they feel like they’re above my intellectual pay grade.

Still, there are occasions wherein even the greatest works of gaming feel like they have imparted some of their secrets upon me in a way different from others, and today is 1 of those times.  So let’s talk about the really interesting way in which Disco Elysium regards communism.

First of all, we should probably clarify that when DE speaks of communism, it’s a slightly ambiguous take on the concept.  Communism as we see it in Disco Elysium seems to be an indistinct amalgamation of both actual communism, and its brother, socialism.  Communism in Disco Elysium exists as a failed social-military movement of the past, a currently blossoming economic-nationalist uprising led by Evrart and the majority of the worker-populace of Martinaise, and as a governing entity theorized and yearned for by passionate young intellectuals--it’s a history, a present, and a future, and it means different things within each of those contexts.  As such, there are some ways in which Disco Elysium simply uses “communism” as a blanket term that covers its portrayal of both communism and of socialism, at least as far as I can tell with my only-barely-better-than-a-layman’s understanding of the concepts.  For the purposes of this rant, I’ll be following DE’s lead and using communism as the catch-all term for any and all of these slight variations of the idea of a government and economy controlled by the majority and those who do the most for it.

Also, I guess it’s probably worth mentioning that I, myself, don’t see socialism as an inherently bad idea.  Nor communism, I guess, although I certainly don’t like it as much.  So if my not going into Liberty Prime mode here is going to bother you, you probably shouldn’t keep reading today’s rant.  With that said, I don’t really count myself as a proponent for socialism, either.  I think it’d be great if there were a way to effectively implement it without compromising any of its ideals, because I’m sure as hell not a fan of capitalism, but I don’t honestly think that socialism or communism CAN be made to work, for reasons relevant to the rant below.  Mind you, I don’t think capitalism can work, either, and our current age sure seems to be intent on proving me right...but capitalism, at least, falls into its inevitable ruin a lot slower than socialism and communism do.  So if where I stand personally on this issue is important to you as you read, look at me as, I dunno, a sympathetic but uninvolved observer.  Like The Watcher in Marvel comics, or the United States every time something horrible happens in the world that doesn’t directly threaten its oil supply.

Alright, so, back to business.  Looking at communism through the lens of Disco Elysium, it’s clear that the creators of the game are very realistically pessimistic about the odds of communism’s ever succeeding.  DE shows clearly, distinctly, and bluntly why it doesn’t seem possible for communism to ever succeed and work in any kind of long-term capacity.

First of all, and perhaps most practically, the fact is that communism’s most powerful opposing ideology, capitalism, has no interest whatsoever in letting it gain a foothold in the world.  Elysium’s first, most famous, and arguably truest attempt at establishing communism as a governing power occurred decades before the game’s beginning, an established event of history there as much as the Russian Revolution is in our own world.  And this communist revolution of Elysium was violently, thoroughly crushed, as external nations quickly went to war with the new communist nation of Revachol and ruthlessly put down its idealistic militia.  Soldiers were killed, revolutionaries executed, territory seized, and control established by the forces that represent capitalism, and Revachol’s short attempt at a land whose people had autonomy over their own lives became a part of the city’s identity of failure.  Disco Elysium’s message is simple: communism isn’t going to flourish, because the big kids aren’t interested in letting it.

Did I say message?  I meant observation.  The observation of those who have seen or read of cold wars and costly real ones in this past century, who have witnessed the cultural demonizing of socialist thought for decades, and the careful forgery of an imaginary link between democracy, a system intended to empower the many, and capitalism, a system that crushes the many for the benefit of the few.

But don’t misunderstand: Disco Elysium isn’t just pessimistic about communism’s chances for success because of the outside forces that want to destroy it.  The game also bitterly but earnestly demonstrates why communism is doomed to failure even without the opposition of any external enemy.  You see, while the communism of the past fell to the hammer of capitalism, the communism of Disco Elysium’s present, that represented by Evrart and his Dockworker’s Union, actually looks like it may stand a fighting chance against the foreign corporate overlords from whom the union seeks to be emancipated.  As a result of many factors, such as the tired wisdom and regret of Joyce Messier, and Harry’s own actions, but most of all Evrart and Edgar Clair’s intelligence and preparation, a new revolution of and for the people is beginning in Revachol at the end of Disco Elysium.  This time, it looks like it might have the strength to endure its enemies’ attempt to crush it.  And if it does, indeed, succeed...

...it will be so, so much greater a failure of communism than the first time.

See, it won’t have succeeded because it was a movement by the people, for their own sake.  The Union’s communism will not have won the day by its own virtues.  It will have won because its leader Evrart is simply better at playing the game of his enemies than they are.  It appears that the only time that capitalism can’t crush communism is when the latter is being led by ruthless, manipulative, evil sons of bitches like Evrart and his brother Edgar.  Evrart is the closest thing to a standard RPG villain that Disco Elysium possesses--a man who’s bringing about his vision of a new, better world by making sacrifices of the very group of people who he’s supposedly doing it for, without their consent.  He finances his plans through the trade of narcotics that do the most harm to the common people, he manipulates his workers by spiking their borscht, he aims to “improve” slums by strong-arming their residents to move as he remakes the community.  And sure, the money DOES go toward his plans to make Revachol a city of the working class, and his people DO move in the ways he needs them to to achieve this, and the communities he’s rebuilding WILL be productive, wealthier areas--but each and every time, the desirable end result comes at the cost of the very people it’s meant to benefit, and their sacrifices aren’t requested, simply taken.*  Even if his greatest motivation really is the greater good--and we frankly only have his own word that this is the case--Evrart is very much an ends-justifies-the-means kind of guy, and what we glean of his brother paints a similar picture.

Which means that if the communism of Evrart’s union wins, then it effectively fails.  Communism is an ideology, a belief.  One that transforms itself into action and has tangible effects, yes, but ultimately, it is an idea, a philosophy of governance and trade.  You cannot prove your beliefs are right if the only way to do so is by betraying them.  Fire Emblem 16’s Edelgard’s new empire is not a victory for her ideals of a just and noble society if the executor of her will, Hubert, only upholds that society through murder and deceit.  Shin Megami Tensei 4-2’s Dagda’s insistence upon self-reliance is a joke if he can’t accomplish his objective without someone else doing absolutely everything for him.  And when Evrart uses up the lives and well-being of the working class, employs wealth as a form of power like capitalism, and has people inconvenient to him secretly executed like facism, then his victory is not one for communism.

Not to mention that, in addition to achieving success through the methods of capitalism and facism, Evrart and his brother Edgar are themselves basically living embodiments of a monarchy.  They’re basically heads of the union for life, because even though there are rules in place to keep a union head from serving in the position for too long, whenever the 1 brother’s term is up, the other simply runs and resumes where his sibling left off.  While an opposing candidate CAN run against the Claires, they have the advantage of resources, a totally ruthless mentality, and the willingness to have their opposition killed, making it very doubtful that almost anyone could depose them.  They’ve essentially made themselves monarchs--and Evrart (and presumably Edgar too) is more than willing to enjoy a higher quality of life than the working class he supposedly represents as a perk of leadership, so he’s clearly adopted the spirit of monarchy along with its method.  Capitalist tactics, fascist brutality, monarchistic lifestyle...if the union succeeds and establishes a communistic government following the events of the game, it’s only going to have done so through the leadership of a man who embodies every single political system examined by Disco Elysium except communism.  That is not a victory for the ideology.

And of course, this pessimistic view of communism in Disco Elysium’s present is based, once again, on how the philosophy has fared in real life.  Evrart Claire is a monstrous, scummy villain, but he’s essentially a fluffy little puppy-dog compared to the historical and current figures that he represents.  Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, and let’s not forget our contemporary war crime enthusiast Xi Jinping, there’s no shortage of inhuman monsters and their administrations in the last century who have adopted the pretense of a communist nation as a way to brutally seize and keep power while oppressing, ruining, and often outright massacring millions of people.  While capitalism and traditional democracies are far from immune to horrible acts and being run aground by evil assholes gaming their systems--and of course fascism and monarchy don’t even really bother with a pretense--communism in our world has a damn bad track record of being easily usurped by ambitious, murderous psychopaths who twist it into something unrecognizable for their own benefit.

And while nations like North Korea and China may in practice be far, far off from being actually communist, they still purport themselves to be, and not a lot of people care to debate the matter when it provides an easy way to vilify the ideology through association.  Small wonder that the creators of Disco Elysium so pessimistically portray their world’s present form of communism through the unscrupulous and nasty Evrart Claire, when every “successful” communist movement or nation in our world winds up the way it does.

And so, Disco Elysium shows us, in its present and past forms of communism, why the concept keeps failing: because the only people who seem up to the task of defeating the capitalism that will seek to crush it aren’t the idealists, aren’t the people who actually believe in it, but the manipulators and sacrificers who are the exact same people as the worst of communism’s foes.  It’s a similar conclusion as I’ve drawn about socialism, myself, an unavoidable fact of history, human nature, and extrapolation.  Disco Elysium’s take on communism is elegantly, realistically, articulately pessimistic, as well it should be.

And yet, it is so careful to keep hope alive.

In spite of the past’s failure and the dim outlook of the present with Evrart as its architect, communism’s idealists DO still live in Disco Elysium’s world, and they are represented by Steban (and to a lesser extent, his cohort Ulixes).  Steban is shown to be ferociously intellectual, genuinely focused on understanding all he sees and reads at its highest level, and on a constant journey to experience and contribute to the exchange of thoughtful ideas, theories, and critiques.  He and Ulixes are staunch proponents and experts on communism and its branching theories, and envision a future in which its principles have been put into effect in government and economy, but also applied to interpersonal behavior and even the physical infrastructure of society, such as architecture.  The moral and philosophical heart of communism still lives in people like Steban, idealistic and intelligent youths who still have an eye to the future and envision what it could be.

Now, make no mistake, the game also shows that Steban is a dreamer who is biting off more than he can chew, as is the case of pretty much anyone who sincerely believes in the ideology in its own right.  Even in its message of hope, Disco Elysium is reasonably realistic.  Steban and Ulixes have not actually accomplished anything of their ideals beyond writing some intelligent but largely ignored articles, one of which has a subject matter whose relevance can’t even be called tangential.  Like, think of an article that is putting forth a passionate opinion about interpreting an extremely minor corner of human culture in a way that doesn’t really matter or change anything about that niche, which will be read by maybe 100 total people, ever.  And once you’re done envisioning Thinking Inside the Box, imagine it’s written way, way more insightfully.  That’s basically where Steban’s at in Disco Elysium--a highly erudite but infinitesimally minor bit player.  The fact that he has no idea how to raise enthusiasm for and recruit people into a reading group makes his potential to be the one to lead the masses to a social paradise pretty damn doubtful.  Additionally, there are multiple times during conversing with Steban when Harry’s inner thoughts and observations will conclude that the earnest young man is naive, spouting and indulging points of philosophy that he has not seen tested by the real world.  You absolutely can make a good argument that Disco Elysium’s portrayal of the well-intentioned but unprepared, disorganized, and green Steban as communism’s future suggests no more success for the ideology in the times to come than it’s had to date.

Still, the fact that idealists like Steban do still live, and that they’re shown through his representation to be smart, engaged people regardless of inexperience, at least implies the possibility that circumstances could improve for communism in the future.  Even if manipulative shitheads like Evrart are its present, there’s still the chance that the next face of the movement will be someone like Steban, who values communism for what it’s meant to be instead of what it can do for him.

And yes, the likely impossibility of communism being successfully implemented is still acknowledged by Disco Elysium...but even then, it still has hope.  1 of my favorite moments in the entire game is the scene in which Steban, Ulixes, and Harry all work together at the end of their reading club meeting to construct a building out of matchboxes, made in accordance with the architecture theorized by a communist philosopher in some of his writings.  In spite of the fact that the structure seems like it should be incapable of standing on its own, as Harry’s ever-skeptical partner Kim points out...it stands nonetheless as the 3 men finish and draw away from it.  Not for long--but long enough to prove its point in a quiet, poignant moment of hopeful symbolism that strikes awe even in Kim.  It seems clearly impossible--but it is accomplished nonetheless.  

1 of my favorite quotes from the game comes from Steban as a message of hope.  When Harry has the opportunity to question him on what the point is in striving for communism, in the face of a task which history has proven impossible and which may even prove fatal to undertake, Steban’s response is, “In dark times, should the stars also go out?”  In spite of all that has come in the game before it, it’s hard for a line like that not to be the take-away message on the matter.

Disco Elysium is realistically pessimistic about the prospects of true socialism and/or communism ever succeeding, as well it should be--but it’s also sympathetically optimistic, too.  Through the failure of communism’s history in Elysium and through the likely success of Evrart Claire, it establishes beyond doubt that, by all appearances, true, noble communism is unattainable.  And yet, by showing those that truly believe in it and want to urge the world toward it through the scholarly and sincere Steban, Disco Elysium is nonetheless sympathetic to the ideology...and through the scene of Harry, Steban, and Ulixes successfully building the matchbox structure, the game also goes out of its way to show that perhaps, with belief and hope, what seems and should be impossible really can be accomplished.  Disco Elysium strikes an interesting and elegant mix in its views on communism, and I appreciate equally its frank but non-hostile assessment of the movement’s unlikelihood to succeed, and its refusal to give up hope altogether for it.














* You can make defenses of each of these situations, of course.  The borscht is no big deal to him, to the point that he doesn’t even remember that it’s a thing he’s having done, so Harry can put an end to that one right then and there.  Evrart does claim that he’ll stop the drug trade if Harry raises a stink (although I’m fairly sure that this is meant to be a sarcastic remark, not genuine).  And Lilienne will justify her signature to allow Evrart to build his community center and thus displace most of the people living in the area by pointing out that regardless of how it may hurt herself and her community now, if it creates a better life for her children, it’s worth it.  But each of these justifications are only lucky circumstances each time--the evil behind Evrart’s behavior can’t keep lucking into happenstance that makes it theoretically justifiable forever, and let’s face it, it’s REALLY unlikely that these are the only unethical irons in Evrart’s fire.  I mean, again, he doesn’t even remember chemically manipulating his people with the spiked borscht, and if he actually IS willing to put the brakes on a narcotics empire because Harry doesn’t like it, then hell, I can’t even imagine how terrible the plans that he DOES really care about must be.