This constitution is a broad template of sorts which is meant to be adapted and adopted by a new era of nations. Its name is `Wellspring` -- it aims to be a wellspring from which oases of reason, reality and individualism will flourish in a world of coercion and collectivism.
Wellspring, hereafter "`WS`", exists to improve upon the mistakes of the forerunner American republic and form a more perfect union. `WS` is intended to establish a free market, minarchist, constitutional republic (i.e., emphatically **not** a democracy) with a strong bias against wealth redistribution.
`WS` shall always be interpreted in an originalist fashion consistent with the doctrine of `Antonin Scalia` (1936-2016). In order to assist with its interpretation, each file also includes an Apologia to explain what the text was understood to mean to its framers and the surrounding zeitgeist at the time of its adoption.
Pledge of Allegiance: "*I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never attempt to force, threaten or defraud another indeperson into living for me.*"
Republic Holidays: Each of the cornerstone principles of the republic shall have its own holiday to keep it in remembrance. Working on a republic holiday incurs no penalty.
Rights are capabilities and nothing more. A "right" is an undertaking which an indepagent is capable of performing on its own, if left unimpeded. That is, a right is something which an indepagent can perform "by right" of its own nature/design. A right is **not** a claim on the capabilities, mind/consciouness or labour of **another** indepagent.
Rights and private property law go hand in hand; rights are capabilities, and private property law ensures non-interference: to wit, that no indepagent's capabilities are used to injur or impede another indepagent's ability to exercise its rights. Individual rights precede law. Law preserves individual rights.
Private Property law is that set of restrictions which stem from the recognition of the sovereignty of every indepagent over its own self (both consciousness and "body") and the produce of its labour (both cognitive and physical). In order to protect the sovereignty of indepagents, private property law secures each indepagent against interference in the forms of **force**, **duress** and **fraud**. Any claim by any indepagent to ownership of another indepagent shall be null and void in a Utopian court.
- In as much as some conagents are unfit to sensibly manage their own property: there shall be laws to designate both the automatic and explicit guardianship, trusteeship and powers of attorney to others for the unsound of mind during such time that they are unsound (pueragency and diagnosed mental unsoundness).
- In as much also, as communicable diseases and biohazards are a market failure whose urgency demands that the gradual hand of the market to reach equilibrium be bypassed for expeditious measures: communicable (and only communicable) diseases and biohazards shall be an exception to individual sovereignty, as outlined in `SovCBio` law.
- Finally in order to resolve information asymmetries and discourage fraud: laws which force the publication of component ingredients in a product or service (but not the method thereof) are a permissible exception to the non-negotiability of private property law.
- As defense is of greater importance than opulence: the preparedness of the nation for war, as outlined in `SovWI` law.
No other exceptions to the sacrosanctness of the sovereignty of the individual over his/her private property are recognized by this Constitution, including causes such as, natural disasters, non-communicable disease and climate change. Environmental protection mechanisms are specified elsewhere in this constitution.
WS recognizes only 4 fundamental rights; they only apply to indepagents. No other species' rights are recognized before WS' courts. To wit, every other species (depagents, animals and mechanimals) may be privatized as property. Pueragents and Senesagents are sub-types of indepagents.
2. Speak/communicate freely. The exceptions to this right are where speech is employed to command or request violation of private property by proxy (i.e. "incitement") and where speech violates SovWI Secrecy law. *This shall not be construed to preclude civil liability incurred from speech, where factually incorrect speech causes damage to reputation and prospects (i.e, "libel/slander" etc).*
4. Act/labour/move freely. The exception is where action violates others' private property as defined by this Constitution. This right may be abridged in respect of the exceptions outlined in this constitution's definition of private property, but only in as much as is necessary to achieve such ends and no further.
No other right is recognized before a Utopian court.
> [Experimental] Laws which force other persons' labour shall be unenforceable. E.g, laws to force a medical/insurance worker to labour for others (I.e, no right to healthcare). This shall not be construed to invalidate equitable legal remedies.
The defense, "forceful resistance of the unenforceable", even to lethality, shall form a perfect defense in every Utopian court where the injury is inflicted against one attempting to enforce a thing deemed "unenforceable" by this constitution.
The rule of law (i.e., "Republicanism") is that form of government which equally subjects **all** conagents to a publicly published body of law (constitution + legislation) which all conagents can read and make preparations to govern themselves by. It differs from other forms of government in that every other form of government is rule by whim - whether rule by whim of a single individual or rule by whim of a group or collection of groups.
`WS` rejects all forms of rule by whim, including rule by whim of a majority (i.e., "Democracy"). `WS` establishes a republic where conagents are ruled by a publicly published document and not by arbitrary whim; and separation of powers in a Republic pits contending interests against one another in an intentional gridlock to ensure that any legislative changes which **do** get past the gridlock are those with extremely broad consensus. All conagents are equally subject to the same document, which can be read, understood and **predicted** by all, and which applies equally to all and most importantly, which resists **impulsive** changes and protects minorities against the tyranny of majorities by intentionally engaging rival interests in political gridlock using the separation of powers.
`WS` would like to make it clear and unambiguous that it the **only** form of equality which it values is equality of the application of laws (i.e., "Rule of Law", or "Republicanism"). `WS` explicitly does **not** value equality of opportunity or equality of outcome as legislative goals. This is not to in any way disparage efforts to create equality of opportunity or equality of outcome pursued in the **private sector** via private mechanisms. The Gov't however shall not pursue equality of opportunity or outcome through law. The gov't notwithstanding **shall** pursue equality of the enforcement of the laws on **all** conagents.
The government may however, pursue the equality of opportunity in **only** one area: access to the court system. Government may provide mechanisms to ensure that private property enforcement is as easily accessible to the poor as to the rich. When an indepagent suffers a private property violation, the financial costs should not be a limiting factor in whether or not they pursue redress in court.
Government is a corporation which provides internal policy, external defense and an externality auction market service, Courts/Franchisee Courts, a standing army/navy/airforce, intelligence, diplomacy, Contagion and Biohazard Management (CBio), a service exchange auction and incentives for certain categories of insurance and products (using tax reductions only).
Branches of govt: Diplomatic, Defense, Judicial, Informative and Legislative. There is no executive. Only the military and CBio branches as well as the "Right to leave" program, shall have the power to deficit spend. Deficit spending by any other branch shall be directly funded by its employees.
No information shall be made secret by the government unless it pertains to war, and war secrets shall be kept under the auspices of the War Secrets section of this constitution.
All affairs of government not concerning war secrets shall be open to attendance by the public. Should there be no room to host all those interested in attending, room shall be auctioned off to the highest bidders on the `Externality Auction`. There shall be no public spending on broadcast agencies/business. There shall be no nationalized or government owned or subsidized media agencies. Each branch of government shall arrange to make such seating or other means of attendance as are required, physical or otherwise (digital, etc) available for auction.
Citizens shall have a valid claim to the "Right to leave" program. Citizens who claim the Right to Leave shall not be allowed to return until they have paid back the debt incurred to effectuate the program on their behalf. While the ex-citizen is outside of the jurisdiction of `WS`, they shall not be chargeable for the debt. Upon leaving the jurisdiction as the final step of the Right to Leave program, the citizen loses citizenship. The right to leave program grants:
- Should the applicant desire to relocate to a different domicile location during the 2 years, no new transportation coverage shall be offered or granted; however the accomodations funds will continue being paid according to the original schedule.
- It is up to the applicant to procure any visas/authorization for residency, transit, etc required to reach and domicile themselves in their end destination.
The government shall not impose obstacles that make it difficult to claim this program's benefits. Citizens shall be freely allowed to leave. Notwithstanding, government may suspend the program at times where it becomes difficult to balance other higher priorities against it, such as SovWI and SovCBio emergencies.
