Elements of a World Constitution

Preamble:

U.S. elections aren’t particularly democratic these days.  Huge money is buying Congress on both sides.  Lots of voters are getting pushed out of their right to vote.  Our congressional districts are gerrymandered within an inch of their life.  We don’t trust our black box voting machines.

The U.S. fights incessant proxy wars with our blood and with our money.  The United States treasury is regularly nearly bankrupted like a problem gambler, mainly because of war but also because of other giveaways.

Our climate is changing.  We’re going to lose much of our food supply and the U.S. Government doesn’t care much.  Global thermonuclear war has yet to be negotiated out of existence.

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I.  Elections

The first element of a world constitution is honest, effective elections.  Direct voting on all issues isn’t going to work, so we need a representative system.

1.  I see that proportional representation elections, as practiced in Cambridge, Massachusetts to elect their City Council since 1940, are notably corruption-resistant.

2.  I see no reason why extremely small neighborhood legislature elections shouldn’t be held as frequently as every 3 months.  Translating the will of the people into desirable legislation is paramount and the convenience of the public servants is not at all paramount.  These local legislators wield a good deal of power in selecting town, state, federal and world representatives in much the same manner of corruption-resistant elections.  Using a multi-layer system insures that each and every voter’s vote counts for a great deal in every election, and that most of the population is insulated from the stress of legislative decisionmaking.

3.  We citizens think in terms of our locality, but we also think in terms of certain groups to which we belong.  For example, I can live in Brewer, Maine and I can also identify with the transgender movement.  I can live in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston and I can also identify with the Seventh Day Adventists.  We need to have two sets of legislative elections, one based on neighborhood and one based on self-identification with a political or social group with at least 100 people in it.  Within these elections, multiple candidates run for multiple legislative seats.

4.  Every human has rights.  If people physically can’t vote for some reason, we find a way to take honest polls so that we can simulate the votes if the voiceless.  By using this technique we can reach into the homeland of the toughest dictatorship and we can still represent its people.

5.  If individuals don’t want to participate in the world government and in the elections of their own free will, then they get no power.

6.  Students as young as perhaps age 12 should be able to earn learner’s permits in these elections and in this government.  Their voting power will be quite limited at first, but a 12 year old can make pretty good voting decisions.

7.  This government is self-assembling.  A conference room full of people can put together the first government and eventually the first elections using either consensus process or sociocracy.

8.  Consensus process and strong supermajorities are effective governmental tools.  It’s rare that people have badmouthed trial juries for their 12 to nothing votes.

9.  “Future Generations” must vote.  Nursing mothers and young parents might be an effective surrogate.

II.  The Economy

Free market economies, as seen at farmer’s markets, seem to work well.  They tend to level the playing field for buyers and for sellers.  Unfortunately, our global economy has amazingly little to do with a free market economy.  “Free for who” is the critical question.

1.  For the good of our economy, all people should have a path to full participation and ownership in any productive business.  Access to education, to mentorship, to apprenticeship and to investment should be granted for qualified individuals, and that should include almost everybody.  By allowing easy entry, monopoly or oligopoly becomes far more difficult.

2.  Businesses should always have economic incentives to fissure into autonomous parts if they get too big, or if they start to monopolize a field.

3.  Waves of giant bankruptcies regularly damage our economy.  Unprofitable companies must be carefully spotted and transformed long before the crash of bankruptcy.  The idea of venture capital vultures looting a company from within, saddling it with incredible debts and then throwing it to the sharks must be ended.

4.  Certain functions are clearly government-related.  For example, we need firefighters who are willing to rescue people, sometimes at the risk of their own lives.  It’s unacceptable to have a private corporation where investors/firefighters can bail out whenever the risks aren’t profitable for themselves personally.  Within such government-related functions, little niches such as serving the coffee might be privatized.  However, we need our government to make good economic decisions across the board.

5.  A beggar is a sign of a failed state.  Every person has the right to live indoors in the winter, to not get tuberculosis in crowded shelters, to not get robbed and stabbed when they are desperately poor and frail, to not be thrown out on the street by the hospital.  Every person has the right to an honest shot at a real career, and no, fake makework careers don’t count.

6.  Stable, democratic businesses must be run by a legislature of customers, lower-wage workers, smaller investors and the neighbors.  Conspicuously absent from this list are huge investors and company CEOs.

7.  Our economy needs to pointedly favor the democratically run businesses that favor the people.  Outside businesses need vetting.

8.  One method of screening outside businesses out would be either an internal currency or an internal credit card system.  If the government’s money isn’t recognized in casinos, the casinos can only prey on wealthy outsiders.  If all money keeps circulating within our own economy, the economy stays vibrant.

9.  The “know your farmer” locality rule needs to be expanded to many industries.

10.  The precautionary principle states that if some new chemical or technique is unknown, it needs to be fully tested before use.  Giant businesses are notorious for crooked product testing.  Our governments need to be proactive in testing and in alternative product development.

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That’s the framework.  Perhaps five people in your living room can choose to adopt it, then they can grow and reach out to other groups.