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Infernus and the Resource Curse: A Brief Analysis.
Introduction
While scarcity in Minecraft narratives can be difficult to effectively achieve due to the expansive nature of Minecraft worlds and the abundance of infinitely renewable resources. Ish’s Rich and Poor Civilization video manages to create scarcity very effectively. Due to the maps being custom-made and scarcity being intentionally manufactured on island one, we can see how phenomena of scarcity and abundance play out in a surprisingly realistic way. This essay will draw upon information from Ish’s video but also from other sources that give a more well-rounded perspective on the circumstances of each nation. Additionally, while there is an argument to be made that island two did display some symptoms of the resource curse, they are not the main focus of this essay and more closely resemble more diversified and established economies, unaffected by the resource curse. In this essay, I will be comparing how netherite in the Rich and Poor video behaves similarly to oil in our own political history and how Infernus became a victim of the resource curse.
What is the Resource Curse?
The resource curse is a phenomenon where countries that are rich in a specific valuable resource, often oil, minerals, or rare earth elements, are more likely to experience corrupt governments, struggling economies, and internal violent conflict. So a parallel is drawn between the instability of a nation and its natural resources: “oil states are 50% more likely to be ruled by autocrats and more than twice as likely to have civil wars as the non-oil states. They are also more secretive, more financially volatile, and provide women with fewer economic and political opportunities” (Ross 2012).
There are a few notable ways that the resource curse can take shape. Politically, the resource curse often causes corruption as nations can amass great wealth from their natural resources, thus not needing to rely on taxes or consider the needs of their people as much. Further political instability can also stem from civil wars and other internal violent conflicts. Resource-rich countries often experience fighting between groups attempting to control resources or in protest to corrupt governments or harm caused by resource extraction itself. Finally, there is the economic facet of the resource curse. Nations that lack diversified economies, relying only on a single resource, are incredibly unstable, meaning there is no safety net if supply runs out or demand disappears.
Not all of these examples are present in the case of Infernus, not all of them are present in every real case of the resource curse either, but they are essential for understanding this analysis.
Is netherite like Oil?
Oil is a valuable resource that, in some ways, governs our entire society. We depend on oil for electricity, for transportation, for many of our household products, and for the clothes on our backs. It is a tool of war, and it can start wars. Netherite, the fictional metal in Minecraft, is very different. Its uses are far more limited, as most people only use it for improved armor and weapons, and its uses outside of that are incredibly limited. While in most cases it would be absurd to propose that oil and netherite have any similarities, the manufactured scarcity in Ish’s event meant that netherite was far more valuable than it usually would be. Oil is also often found in more impoverished regions, much like netherite on Island One in Ish’s event. The people of Island One had so little access to other resources that netherite shifted power dynamics between the poor island and the rich island. This was even more true for Infernus, one of the poorest nations that all of a sudden found itself sitting atop a fortune. Like oil, netherite is a tool of war, and with war looming on the horizon for Island One, netherite became an even more valuable resource.
Island One Politics and Its Similarities to the Politics of Oil
It is important to understand that while the official Ish video implies that the Mafia arrived in the volcano first and then tolerated the later arrival of Infernus, both nations actually settled on the land at the same time. There was an agreement early on that, because Infernus wasn’t equipped to mine the way the Mafia was, the Mafia would take over mining operations and give some of the resources to Infernus. The relationship between Infernus and the lingulini mafia is complex, as despite being two neighboring nations, the Mafia operated much more like an International Oil Company or IOC when it came to its relationship with Infernus. The Mafia is distinct from IOCs because they are themselves a sovereign nation and so have the rights to some of the resources themselves, but they did still exploit Infernus by not honoring their deal and not giving Infernus the resources that were rightfully theirs. Many IOCs were comparable in political and sometimes even military strength to many of the underdeveloped nations they operated in, which strengthened the similarities between the Lingulini Mafia and IOCs. Later, a rift grew between Infernus and the Mafia due to Lingulini’s dishonesty and their political disagreements in negotiations over resources. The Mafia eventually left the volcano for Island Two before Cynikka sent mercenaries after them as revenge for the way they exploited and betrayed Infernus.
The Mafia were not the only ones interested in mining on Infernus’ land either. The Covenant and Westhelm both wanted to mine in the volcano, but Cynikka and the other leaders of Infernus were adamantly against allowing them to. Eventually, a meeting was called to discuss the presence of the netherite in Infernus’ territory. There are several narratives and arguments made at that meeting that are essential to understanding the resource and political dynamics of Island One.
Firstly, many argued that in the name of Island One unity and due to the common threat of invasion by Island Two, Infernus had a responsibility to share its resources for the benefit of everyone. While this argument seems very reasonable, it sours when more context is provided. Unity and sharing only work when the flow of resources goes both ways, but the other nations of Island One acted as though they had a right to mine in Infernus without giving anything in return, which is a colonialist mindset. One representative even said, “It's the only resource we have”. The use of ‘we’ here highlights that they thought they had a right to the netherite even though it lay in Infernus’ territory.
Infernus did not want to hoard the minerals; instead, they wanted to trade their netherite in exchange for resources they lacked that other nations were more able to spare, like iron or food, a system that is very similar to oil nationalization. Nationalization is when countries expel foreign extraction companies and instead operate extraction through the state. Nationalization redirected the profits of extraction back to the locals and helped protect them from colonial exploitation. The people of Infernus were starving, and Cynikka, the queen of Infernus, didn’t even have enough iron for pants. To them, fair trade symbolized the ability to claw their way out of poverty.
Other Island One nations were very resistant to the idea of trade; instead, one leader proposed a system that bore some slight resemblances to neocolonialism and to the operations of IOCs. The proposal was that other Island One nations would each make a one-time payment in exchange for permission for two representatives to mine in the volcano without limits. This would be an imbalanced outcome benefiting the other nations far more than Infernus, especially as the proposed payment was only five iron.
Island Two’s Immunity
Island Two was not affected by the resource curse for a few key reasons. There was no single resource that was viewed as the most valuable, so single thing that people were desperate to get their hands on. The abundance on Island Two was so extreme, access to nearly every resource was so accessible that it nearly eliminated the possibility of conflict over natural resources. At its core, the resource curse is a product of greed, of exploitation for profit, and of dynamics between scarcity and plenty. On Island Two power derived from greed and exploitation was somewhat obsolete because the systems of traditional capitalist economies could not exist in a world where all natural resources were so accessible and so plentiful.
Criticisms of the Resource Curse
The most common argument against the resource curse is less a denial of its existence and more of a reframing of its causes. The argument is that the resource curse is not caused simply by a nation being resource-rich; if that were the case, then one might expect the United States to be in constant violent conflict over the oil in our ground. Instead, the curse is caused by colonial legacies, the resources themselves taking a backseat to the colonial forces that exploit nations to acquire them. The suffering of the cursed nation is caused by this exploitation, and in many cases, colonial powers will kneecap existing governments politically and economically to more effectively extract value, which is difficult for most nations to recover from. This perspective is key to a well-rounded understanding of the resource curse, but is not particularly relevant to the case of Infernus.
Some also argue that what we call the resource curse can often instead be attributed to geography, natural landscapes, and regional issues, or that the problems are caused by a lack of development and infrastructure. It can be argued that most of Infernus’ struggle was due to the geography of where they lived. Unlike many of the other Island One nations, Infernus didn’t have much land and was less able to expand agriculture, leaving them with very little food compared to many of their allies, even after the border dropped. While it can be difficult to talk about infrastructure development in a Minecraft context, I do think it is still somewhat relevant. We can see how other nations, especially Westhelm, created robust agriculture and other systems early on. We can see it in how Westhelm quickly overcame the issue of hunger and created things like automated storage systems and aqueducts, proof of a thriving society, while Infernus was still struggling. It could be argued that it was Infernus’ own fault that they did not develop these kinds of infrastructure as quickly, but it is also important to remember that Infernus was a much smaller nation than Westhelm and for the most part experienced scarcity on a much larger scale.
How Infernus Embodies the Resource Curse
To understand how Infernus has been affected by the resource curse, this essay will look at the different facets of the resource curse, whether Infernus was affected in that way, and in what ways.
The resource curse’s political impact on Infernus was insignificant as the government stayed very stable throughout the entire event. While it could be argued that Infernus giving the Covenant mining rights in exchange for a political favor is an example of corruption, there is no pattern of corrupt behavior. Infernus did distance itself from international cooperation, leading to the destabilization of those alliances, but that is not representative of internal political stability.
Economically, Infernus was impacted by the resource curse. As I have said before, there are limits to how economic models can be mapped over to Minecraft, so the impacts are on wealth and negotiation power rather than actual economies. They did not have a diversified economy; they were very poor aside from their untapped netherite reserves so it was all they could rely on to bring them prosperity and leverage in negotiations. When other nations refused to trade, it landed them right back in the lap of poverty.
Conflict is the most significant way that Infernus was impacted by the resource curse. Their possession of a valuable resource sparked conflict in ways that are reminiscent of both domestic conflicts and international ones. The conflict between the Lingulini Mafia and Infernus is very similar to a domestic war because of how closely entwined the two nations were and how they shared land. Without the wealth of netherite in their land, the Mafia and Infernus likely would have continued to be strong allies, but instead, exploitation and conflict over control of resources devolved into violence when Cynikka ordered a mission to kill the Mafia. Additionally, violent conflicts sprang up between Infernus and other nations over the netherite as the people of Infernus killed two citizens of the Covenant for mining without permission on their land.
Ultimately, it is also possible that the unproductive negotiations over a trade agreement drove Infernus to take in The Conspiracy, which then led to the war between them and the other nations. This is somewhat unlikely as the reasoning for Infernus taking in The Conspiracy has never been fully confirmed but it is not out of the question.
Finally, it is important to understand how colonial dynamics allowed the resource curse to settle onto Infernus. It is important to note that no nation was ever conquered or colonized in the Rich and Poor event, so Infernus was not directly impacted by colonialism but that doesn’t mean that colonial ideas were not present or influential to Island One politics.
One way to understand these dynamics is to apply the theory of Commodity Fetishism, this theory would posit that it is not the possession or hoarding of netherite that caused corruption to blossom in Infernus, but the neocolonial relations between the rest of Island One and Infernus. It was less about netherite or resources and more about how the other nations presumed a right to the resources that existed under the soil of Infernus and acted as though Infernus had to accommodate their needs ahead of the needs of their own people. Presuming that they should be allowed to pay a small one-time fee in exchange for the rights to mine and extract netherite below the surface of Infernus perpetually. This idea is fundamentally colonial and not dissimilar to the behaviors of IOCs. This behavior and these relations between Infernus and the other nations ultimately kept them in poverty and led to violent conflict plaguing Infernus.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ish’s Rich and Poor Civilization video is a surprisingly good example of how scarcity affects politics. Many connections can be drawn between the politics of oil in our world and the politics of netherite in the world Ish created for his video. Infernus suffered because it was a poor nation with the misfortune of being settled atop mountains of wealth. The combination of an unstable economy, exploitation by outside forces, and constant conflict made Infernus an unstable nation, cursed by fortune. The instability and conflict caused by the resource curse and its effect on Infernus brought great suffering to the people of the flame and was ultimately what led to the fall of such a beautiful and proud nation.
References
Bridge, G., & Le Billon, P. (2017). Oil (2nd ed.). Polity Press.
Ish. (n.d.). 1000 players simulate civilization: Rich & poor [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef568d0CrRY&t=1076s
Ross, M. L. (2012). The oil curse : how petroleum wealth shapes the development of nations. Princeton University Pres.
thefranChise. (2025, August 18). Hogging netherite in ish's 1000 player civilization [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGYDOmAtBGA
Watts, M. (2004). Resource curse? Governmentality, oil and power in the niger delta, nigeria. Geopolitics, 9(1), 50-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650040412331307832
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