wellspring/01-principles/01-principles.md

Wellspring: Principles.

Prologue

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. Where unclear, the text is to be interpreted to favour as little redistribution as possible, preferring always none if that is an option.

Interpretation

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.

Symbols, celebrations and rituals.

Motto: "The individual outranks the collective."

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.

• First month:
  • Day 1: Not A Democracy, but a Republic if you can keep it (ReNoDem) day.
  • Day 2: Common Law and Magna Carta (Magnificata) day.
• 2nd quarter month:
  • Day 1: Gridlock is Intentional (GrInt) day.
  • Day 15: Sic Semper Tyrannis (Sictember) day.
• Middle month:
  • Day 1: Private Property Law (PrivaLa) day.
  • Day 15: Rights are Unimpeded Capabilities, Not Obligations On Others (RaNO) day.
• 3rd-quarter month:
  • Day 1: Jury Nullification day.
  • Day 15: Existence Exists (Exis) day.
• Final month:
  • Penultimate day: Reason Grasps Reality (ReGRe) day.
  • Final day: Existence is Identity and Consciousness is Identification (EIConI) day.

Rights

Definition of Rights

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 that no indepagent's capabilities are used to injur another indepagent's ability to exercise their rights.

Definition of Private Property

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.

The sovereignty of the individual may only be breached in the pursuit of:

• The control of contagions and biohazards, as outlined in SovCBio law.
• The preparedness of the nation for war, as outlined in SovWI law.

Rights protected by 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.

The right to:

1. Think/associate/dissociate freely. There are no exceptions.
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).
3. Contract freely. The exceptions to this right are those outlined in the Contract Law.
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. 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.

Those things declared "unenforceable" by WS

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.

[Experimental] If in the act of defending an outlaw, a person harms another, the defendant shall have no defense.

Republic, not Democracy

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.

• Democracy : Rule of some defined majority. In a democracy the changing whims of some defined majority is the law. Irrespective of what may be written down in the law books at any given time, if a shift in the mind of that controlling majority occurs, the laws on the books will soon follow. The law is what inhabits the minds (i.e., the whim) of that defined majority.
• Kakistocracy : Rule of judges. In a Kakistocracy, the changing whims of some subset of the Judiciary is the law. Irrespective of what may be written down in the law books at any given time, if a shift in the mind of that controlling group in the Judiciary occurs, the laws on the books will soon follow. The law is what inhabits the minds (i.e., the whim) of that subset of the judiciary.
• Monarchy : Rule of kings. In a Monarchy, the changing whims of some defined royal lineage is the law. Irrespective of what may be written down in the law books at any given time, if a shift in the mind of that royal lineage occurs, the laws on the books will soon follow. The law is what inhabits the minds (i.e., the whim) of some royal lineage.

...And so on. WS rejects all forms of rule by whim, including rule by whim of a majority (i.e., "Democracy"). We are a republic. We are ruled by a publicly published document. We are not ruled by arbitrary whim. 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.

A word on "Equality"

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 market 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.

• Any law which pursues equality of outcome shall be unenforceable.
• Any law which pursues equality of opportunity outside of equality of access to the courts for justice, shall be unenforceable.

Role of Government

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 shall have the power to deficit spend. Deficit spending by any other branch shall be directly funded by its employees.

No regulatory committee (not even supposedly "independent" ones) shall be established by govt or given power to create or change law or bye-law.

Courts

Courts are nationalized because private property law should enjoy a uniform, undisputed monopoly.

Courts may be franchised to provide greater coverage. All courts without exception shall be lex-libertas courts. [Experimental] Appellate courts shall have larger (in number) juries than lower courts.

The right to leave

Citizens have a right to claim access to the "Right to leave" program. Indepagents who claim the Right to Leave shall not be allowed to return until they have paid back the debt incurred on their behalf to effectuate the program. While the indepagent 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 applicant loses citizenship. The right to leave program grants:

• One way travel to a destination chosen by the applicant.
  • 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.
• 2 years' coverage of accomodations. The level of comfort afforded shall be subject to the legislature.
  • The coverage shall be given in monetary form.
  • There is no requirement that the applicant spend the money on accomodations; merely that they leave the jurisdiction.
• 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.