Joshua Citarella & Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman
DKP is Market Socialism

DKP is Market Socialism explores the in-game dynamics of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) World of Warcraft (WoW). In games like WoW, gamers have devised their own version of market socialism to distribute the goods (loot) acquired from in-game bosses. Using a currency called DKP, members are able to acquire and exchange loot from shared battles. The guild is a kind of worker’s cooperative that helps distribute based on particular needs, without systems of debt, vertical leadership, or inequality. While other political models exist, years of player history demonstrate that this sort of virtual socialism remains the most prevalent and long-lasting — proof that left economics can work even when the people that make up the polity are imperfect.

DKP is Market Socialism is the first installment of the trilogy When Guys Turn 20. The triology can be seen in full at dis.art