Shaping a Nation: Polices

Social Polices are the means for which you govern your citizens. They offer various bonuses that will help shape your empire and synergize with a specific victory type. You gain new polices by boosting Culture. The most common way of gaining Culture is by building specific buildings within your cities that will add more Culture after every turn. Some nations, such as Songhai and India have unique buildings to help them build culture. Other nations, such as Aztec and France, rely on their special powers. You can also gain culture by allying with City-States, which both Greece and Siam specialize in. If you manage to complete five full policies, you'll have a chance to complete the game via a Culture Victory.

You can switch between exclusive polices, such as Rationalism and Piety, but this will throw your empire into Anarchy: a short penalty where your empire will not be able to produce or function. You will also not be refunded any of your Culture points, effectively making changing polices a huge drawback.

Tradition

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Tradition	N/A	+1 Food in the Capital
Aristocracy	Tradition	+33% Production for Wonders
Oligarchy	Tradition	+33% combat strength in empire's borders
Legalism	Tradition	-33% Unhappiness in the Capital
Landed Elite	Aristocracy, Oligarchy	+33% Food growth in the Capital
Monarchy	Oligarchy	-50% Gold cost for land

Liberty

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Liberty	No Autocracy	+50% Settler training speed
Collective Rule	Liberty	+50% Food for second citizen in new cities
Citizenship	Liberty	+25% Worker construction rate
Republic	Collective Rule	+1 Production in all cities
Representation	Citizenship	+1 Culture in all cities
Meritocracy	Citizenship	+1 Happiness per city connected to the Capital

Honor

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Honor	N/A	+25% combat bonus vs Barbarians, notifications about new Barbarian Encampments
Warrior Code	Honor	Great Generals appear outside the Capital
Discipline	Honor	+15% combat bonus when another military unit is in an adjacent title
Military Tradition	Warrior Code	Gain double EXP from combat
Military Caste	Discipline	Each city with a garrison reduces Unhappiness by 1
Professional Army	Military Caste	-50% Gold needed for upgrading units

Commerce

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Commerce	One or more Costal Cities	+25% Gold output in the Capital
Naval Tradition	Commerce	+1 move and Sight for military boats
Trade Unions	Commerce	-20% maintenance for roads and railroads
Merchant Navy	Naval Tradition	+3 Production in all Costal cities
Mercantilism	Trade Unions	-25% Gold cost for City items
Protectionism	Mercantilism	+1 for every Luxury

Piety

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Piety	Classical Era, No Rationalism	+2 Happiness
Organized Religion	Piety	-25% Happiness to start a Golden Age
Mandate of Heaven	Piety	50% excess Happiness added to spendable Culture
Theocracy	Organized Religion	-20% Unhappiness in un-occupied cities
Reformation	Organized Religion	Free 6-turn Golden Age
Free Religion	Mandate of Heaven, Reformation	2 Free Policies

Patronage

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Patronage	Medieval Era	-25% City-State influence degradation speed
Philanthropy	Patronage	+25% more influence from City-State gifts
Aesthetics	Patronage	+20 non-degrading influence with all City-States
Scholasticism	Philanthropy	+33% Science bonus from allied City-States
Cultural Diplomacy	Scholasticism	+100% more resources and +50% more Happiness from City-States
Educated Elite	Aesthetics, Scholasticism	Allied City-States will gift Great People

Rationalism

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Rationalism	Renaissance Era, No Piety	Free 5-turn Golden Age
Secularism	Rationalism	+2 Science from every Specialist
Humanism	Rationalism	+1 Happiness from all Universities
Free Thought	Secularism	+2 Science from each Trading Post
Soveereignty	Humanism	+15% Science when the empire is Happy
Scientific Revolution	Free Thought	2 Free Technologies

Freedom

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Freedom	Renaissance Era, No Autocracy	-50% Happiness from Specialists
Constitution	Freedom	+100% Culture in cities with a Wonder
Universal Suffrage	Freedom	+33% combat bonus for Cities
Civil Society	Freedom	-50% Food cost for Specialists
Free Speech	Constitution	-25% Cost of Policies
Democracy	Civil Society	+50% rate of Great People born

Autocracy

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Autocracy	Industrial Era, No Liberty or Freedom	-33% Unit Gold maintenance
Populism	Autocracy	+25% combat bonus for damaged Units
Militarism	Autocracy	-33% Unit Gold cost
Fascism	Populism and Militarism	+100% quantity of Strategic Resources produced
Police State	Populism and Militarism	-50% Unhappiness in Occupied Cities
Total War	Fascism, Police State	+33% combat bonus for 20 turns

Order

Policy Name	Requirements	Bonus
Order	Industrial Era	+22% building Production
Unified Front	Order	+33% City-State influence degradation for other players
Socialism	Order	-10% Building Gold maintenance cost
Nationalism	Order	+25% combat bonus when fighting in friendly territory
Planned Economy	Socialism	-50% Unhappiness from cities
Communism	Planned Economy	+5 Production per city