The most recent dev diary is bringing to light another hard-to-navigate terrain, that of historically accurate discrimination. How will it work in-game?
Discrimination, developers say, is governed by Laws, and most countries start out with Laws that would cause certain cultures or religions to be discriminated against, even if such Pops aren’t even present in the country at the game's start. You don’t pick and choose which cultures or religions to discriminate against, it’s all based on your Laws and how similar other cultures and religions are to your country’s primary culture and religion.
These Laws are supported by Interest Groups, so while you can try to put an end to your discriminatory practices by changing your Citizenship and Church and State Laws, certain groups might not be pleased with you if you do.
Additionally, discriminated Pops get paid less than their non-discriminated peers. This in turn makes ownership shareholders, and potentially all non-discriminated Pops in states where discriminated Pops live, richer, as they get a larger piece of the productivity pie.
Therefore, putting an end to discrimination would hurt their personal finances, which causes them to Radicalize, and they have more Political Strength to hurt you with than the discriminated Pops do.
Paradox Interactive
Finally, discriminated Pops have considerably less Political Strength than their peers. If you’re worried about potential uprisings, getting rid of discriminatory practices could certainly help you in the long term, but in the short term, it will empower the formerly discriminated to make stronger demands.
It might be tempting to retain the status quo unless you’re prepared to take the fight with both the conservative elements of your society and the newly equal citizens who might want to see a few changes. The question is, what is the price of doing the right thing, and are you willing to pay it?
