And we aren't reaching for sticks. When we say "punish this" you could just as well read "reward the opposite". What we're doing is changing aspects of the game so that some things that we want to encourage are more advantageous than other things that we want to discourage. Calling it a stick or a carrot is purely a matter of perspective.
A matter of perspective yes, but one that relies heavily on how it is presented by the game mechanics. The old TMP for example: I suppose one way to look at it is that you get a bonus to your peasants' tax tolerance for going to war, but there was nothing overt to queue players that their serfs' tax tolerance was rising. You might not even realize at all that you could safely raise your taxes during a war, particularly if you were not the kind of player who learns about mechanics by coming to this forum. However, it was made quickly and *painfully* clear when that 'bonus' went away, as if you weren't paying close attention, region morale could suddenly plummet drastically within a few days due to your taxes suddenly being far too high. This made the effect feel like a penalty for peace, not a bonus for war.
A simple adjustment to the daily region maintenance messages could have reframed this. A simple notice that the peasants eagerness to contribute to the war effort causes tax tolerance to increase, for example, coupled with warning messages about the bonus going away prior to when the morale penalties would kick in. Perception can be strongly influenced by the way the mechanic is presented, and whatever new alternative arises to replace TMP, careful thought should be given to how the effects are presented to the players via the game interface.
