The Constitution
The time has come for the establishment of a Community of citizens dedicated to the concept that the human mind can create a society where Equality, Fraternity, and Liberty are expressed in production, art, education and throughout the entire fabric of human interaction. This Community is a combined social experiment, a practical living environment, an educational and research facility, and a method for making an idea accessible to the world. This is a living prototype for a new way of thinking.
A brief aside before proceeding
A three-tiered hierarchy of documents define the principles and codes by which we as Community citizens govern our actions.
The Constitution:
This Constitution represents the Founding Principles upon which the formation of the Community rests. We hold these principles to be self-evident and primary. These Founding Principles exist as a conceptual entity above whatever change may occur in the constituency of the Community or the beliefs or preferences of the individual citizens or majority thereof. As such, these Principles must not be violated or changed without the dissolution of the Community itself.
Articles of Interpretation:
Articles of Interpretation of the Founding Principles function as Bylaws. While meant to provide an enduring stability to our governing actions, the Articles can be modified and amended without recourse to dissolution of the Community. However, the Articles must always reflect and interpret the Founding Principles of the Constitution. The amendment process is defined within the Articles and is meant to require a significant expression of the will of the member citizens so as to protect these Articles from capricious changes.
Current Practices:
The Current Practices Document defines the methods and implementation of the Articles in daily activity. These are more readily modifiable and represent the spirit of scientific inquiry and social experimentation involving the process of evaluation and revision.
Principle 1 – The Priority of Knowledge Applied to the General Welfare
At specific points in the history of human social development, in scientific thought, and in philosophical conceptualization, previously held beliefs and social systems break down as new discoveries become evident but yet do not cohere with that which represents the current conception. At the time this Constitution is being written, we are at such a point in history where there is a vast discrepancy between the extremes of global suffering, hunger, aggression, disease, and ignorance and yet there has never been a higher level of technological, productive, and educational potential for raising the level of all humanity.
We hold that all institutions of social interaction should be influenced and directed by the application of human knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the general welfare of the citizens. We reject those forms of social institutions whereby humans delegate the direction of social events to such concepts as “uncontrollable economic forces”, “the market”, or to policies deriving solely from beliefs or religious tenants which by their very nature are unverifiable and are even presented as such by their advocates.
Furthermore, we promote the free and open discussion of ideas, new conceptions and innovations toward the benefit of the general welfare of the Community and the enhancement of human knowledge.
Principle 2 – The Equality of Labor
We hold that the production of goods and services for the general welfare falls upon all citizens, tailored only by clearly defined differences in ability.
The total amount of labor deemed necessary for a production cycle will be divided equally among all citizens.
There are two considerations which offset an exact distribution by hours of labor.
- Ability:
Agreed upon allowances can be made based on age and health.
- Desirability of Tasks:
Not all tasks that need to be done are created equal. While individuals may differ in the tasks they find desirable and undesirable, there are some tasks which seem to be avoided by everyone. While the elimination of such tasks is a priority, there must be an egalitarian approach taken to this issue of varying degrees of desirability of jobs. Two general approaches are available. One is some method of rotation of the allocation of such tasks and the other is to assign a higher labor hour value to the undesirable task thus enabling the person who volunteers for it to have a reduced number of hours of labor to fulfill the allocated quota.
What is essential to this concept is that there be no differentiation as to the goods and services provided for the type of work performed.
We will not create a class of privileges based on the type or amount of labor contributed.
The methods for assigning values or labor credits are defined in the Bylaws, however the measure of desirability must reflect open access to the jobs by all citizens and the existence of such undesirable jobs must trigger special attention for the elimination of the tasks or modification toward a goal where no citizen has to engage in work which no one wants to do.
While maintaining sufficient skill and education necessary for specific tasks, it is important that the citizenry have a broad knowledge and appreciation for the various tasks that support the society. Means should be provided to allow for individuals to participate in a wide range of tasks in addition to those of their preference and skill.
Principle 3 – The Equality of Distribution
We hold that it is in the best interest of society as a whole to guarantee to every citizen, Food, Housing, Health Care, Education, Facilities for the practice and appreciation of Music and the Arts, Recreation, and Leisure.
We hold that there is no “a priori” connection between one’s production and one’s access to goods, services, security, and other facilities and benefits afforded to all citizens.
Our intention is to provide an abundance of all of the above, freely available to all and provided through the common labor requirements of all and implemented based on creative discourse of the population and planned execution along the lines of scientific methodology, testing, review, and revision.
Principle 4 – Common Ownership
While individuals have access to items for personal use, we hold that all property is commonly owned by the Community.
Neither labor, nor invention, shall create a class of property holders capable of restricting the access of goods and services available to all.
Principle 5 – Non-Aggression and Mutual Respect
We adopt the approach of Non-Violence, Non-Aggression and Mutual Respect in our relationship to one another.
The relation between our Community and other organizations, communities, and governments will also reflect a commitment to Non-Violence. We adopt this principle in the spirit of that promoted by Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, where respect, reason, passive resistance, and active non-cooperation are the alternative social tools available to those who value their own humanity when confronted with aggression.
Going beyond the rejection of violence and aggression, the Community will promote the active creation of social policies and practices which enable the citizens to interact in ways which are caring, respectful, and which promote friendship and camaraderie while at the same time allowing a free flow of discussion, debate, and disagreement over ideas in pursuit of better solutions for all.
Principle 6 – Equality of Individuals
We hold that each individual is a unique and important part of the society and that great contributions consist not simply of the common effort of the collective, but also of individual creative breakthroughs in a social context which can implement them.
We reject any discrimination in the access to goods, services, types of jobs, educational resources, and any of the other benefits provided by the Community on the basis of one’s age, gender, heritage, length of membership, sexual orientation, beliefs, or position held in managerial or decision making bodies.
Unless a more appropriate indicator is available, Child Members may be based on age and provided special rights, privileges, and protection as deemed appropriate for their development and well being. However, even in this case the guiding principle is that of ability and need.
In addition to the rejection of such blatant discriminatory practices, we actively promote social practices that assist in eliminating remnants of such attitudes which are carried over from our past and perpetuated in subtle nuances of the social fabric.
We recognize marital status as an expression of love between couples who desire to publicly express their mutual commitment. Marital status, however, has no effect on the benefits and resources afforded each as individual citizens. Since there is no private ownership, there are no issues of joint property rights, joint bank accounts, pre-nups or divorce proceedings. Since labor quotas are not transferable, there exist no issues of who works or not. Much of what might have been considered household work is provided through Community restaurants, laundries, and grounds maintenance. In support of marital status, the Community might wish to provide for couple housing, as defined in the Articles, and of course we always appreciate an opportunity to celebrate events with public festivities.
Principle 7 – Responsible Governance
We hold that the purpose of governing bodies is to provide the means through which the Founding Principles are implemented in providing for the General Welfare of the Community.
Planning and managerial bodies will be created to generate and implement plans for production, define rules for social conduct and promote active input and participation by interested citizenry.
Ultimately, any policy made by the governing body can be overturned by 30% of the citizenry or as specified in the Articles.
That withstanding, this Constitution does not specify consensus, nor town hall democracy, nor electoral procedures. Governing is seen primarily as a solution oriented task of social experimentation for implementing the Principles herein.
The egalitarian principles of this Constitution provide for a society in which the normal function of political parties and participatory democracy are not needed as mediators of class divisions.
In a society of gross inequity, voting is what is done to quell revolution by providing a false sense of participation.
In an egalitarian society, voting is what is done as a last resort expedient when time and knowledge are limited. The decision should always contain a clause for it’s recall as soon as possible. Voting closes off the search for a real solution. In a crisis a research team might vote to decide on which antibiotic to implement first, but only with a plan for testing, evaluating, and reassessing that decision. The team might also decide to simultaneously run smaller test implementations of alternatives.
In a society free of broad class distinctions of wealth and privilege and where the population does not see itself as a bunch of atomized self-interest groups vying for their own local interests, then the main problem of decision making becomes that of defining the desired outcome of a specific policy and how the success of the policy will be measured. There may be lots of decisions relegated to a vote, but voting in itself is not the basis of real democracy.
Principle 8 – The Value of Education
We hold that it is in the best interest of the society as a whole to promote and provide necessary facilities, resources, and teachers for education of all of the citizenry in the sciences, history, music, arts, philosophy, technologies and engineering, literature, and every aspect of human endeavor.
Education is viewed as an ongoing process throughout one’s entire life. We value the idea expressed in the 15th Century concept of the “Renaissance Man”, independent of the gender of said person.
Principle 9 – The Value of the Arts
Faced with the remains of 20th Century American culture, we find ourselves in the dismal condition where music, art, and theater consists of dumbed-down presentations mostly tuned to fit with the needs of an advertising industry and the commercial interests paying the bill. The recurring theme is one of mediocrity and banality of the human spirit and the meaninglessness of life itself.
We hold that music, art, literature, sculpture and architecture have a unique ability to convey that which is human in humanity. This expression was the primary force addressed during the 15th and 16th Century Italian Renaissance art and architecture and the 17th and 18th Century Classical tradition in music.
While not slavishly embracing only specific forms of music and art, we hold that it is critical to humanity that we promote, produce, and fund extensive opportunity for all of the citizenry to participate in the production and enjoyment of this humanistic tendency in the Arts. Provision will be made for access to instruments, teachers, and sources of art and musical presentations.
Principle 10 – Technology as a Positive Force
There is a movement among a modern version of Luddites in our century who would see technology as an enemy and look to a world of manual labor, reduced population, lowered consumption, and the return to a fictitious “simpler life”.
We hold that only through the innovative application of technology can the human species solve the very issues of inhumanity that exist throughout the world today.
The use of innovation in engineering, medicine, energy production and agricultural processes, when freed from the influence of the profit orientation of capitalist and monetarist self interests, can make possible great strides in the reduction of debilitating manual labor, the provision of food, water supplies, health care and disease prevention, efficient and safe systems of transportation, extended communication systems, the irrigation of deserts, and the production of new unlimited safe sources of energy typified by the very power of the sun itself, fusion energy.
We hold that it is our duty to successive generations to provide them not only with a world that has not been exploited and toxically poisoned, but a world which has been enhanced in a way to assist those generations in arriving at the solutions to the ever expanding issues of human development and the development of new resources yet unknown. We do not fear progress, nor do we retreat from it into the nihilism of “small is beautiful” and “zero population growth”.
We Human Beings are Mother Nature’s proudest achievement, and technical innovation is the gift we have been given to carry out our stewardship.
Principle 11 – Rights of Children
We hold that children deserve to benefit from the resources and security of the Community and not be limited to that of their biological parents.
While we anticipate and support that the parents will love and care for their children, the Community will provide for child rearing and education and support for each child from the time of inception.
In order to take on this level of responsibility, the Community must be of sufficient size and well being to provide the level of facilities, care givers, teachers, and stability of population required.
Before the community can accept children as members, the adult population must be of a sufficient size such that not only will the children be properly supported, but also such that the population of children does not directly impact that portion of the adult members who do not wish to be involved.
Principle 12 – The 4-Hour Day
We recognize that there are many tasks that not only have value for the well being of the Community, but also are enjoyable and self rewarding.
Then there are many equally valuable tasks which no human wants to do. Some are boring, some are disgusting, and some are dangerous.
We promote the elimination of undesirable types of human labor and encourage and fund technologies and modification to our social structure to accomplish this.
Furthermore, we value the reduction of the required labor quota to that of the 4 hour day, the 20 hour work week.
While much greater reduction may be possible through future innovation, we believe that the initial target of the 4-Hour Day is obtainable through the application of current technology, the elimination of labor associated with advertising, packaging, distribution, retail sales, the insurance industry, banking and financial industry, police force, military, and many more of the inefficiencies and wasteful aspects which we do not need to support our social structure.
Principle 13 – The Value of Productive Innovation
While recognizing the importance of overall production planning, it is especially important that we also acknowledge the significance of the “eccentric innovator”, the “crazy idea” that so often has been generated outside of the official channels of corporate research or state planning committees.
We must provide a mechanism whereby the ability of individuals or groups to innovate is encouraged rather than stifled.
In addition to the implementation of common planning, many sidelines of innovation must also be ongoing.
Principle 14 – Proselytizing
We are engaged in promoting the concepts of the Constitution through building a physical Community of people joined together in what could be characterized as a “Renaissance Socialist” facility where we work, play, write, discuss, do research, proselytize, teach, learn, publish, produce art and music, provide for the presentation of seminars, workshops, and concerts of musical performances that raise the level of our humanity and celebrate the enjoyment of that feeling of living a meaningful life.
We promote the concepts to others not only to attract new members, but also because we hold that these principles have value to humanity.
Principle 15 – Acknowledgment of the Whimsical
We recognize that this is perhaps the only Constitution in history to have a section acknowledging the importance of the “whimsical”.
But yet there is nothing more uniquely human than whimsy and humor.
Whimsy, that ability to step outside yourself just long enough for a good chuckle at what you see.
Humor, that special form of experiencing a creative breakthrough in the sudden mental grasp of that which resolves an increasingly tense inconsistency or incoherence setup prior to the “punch line”. It is the cross-category boundary leaping found in puns and the reconciliation of disparate images resolved in the final line of a Haiku poem.
When taking on a task as serious as creating a new world, one should remember to not take oneself too seriously.
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