12. Democracy.
Which is more important to you, minority rights or majority rule? Minority rights is incompatible with unlimited democracy.
Let's say you are boarding a hypothetical ship, the Unlimited Democracy. On board the Unlimited Democracy, 51% of all of the passengers are relatively well-educated and relatively well-off heterosexual Caucasian Christians.
Beating your children and torturing animals are allowed.
Unpopular? Thrown overboard.
Poor? Thrown overboard.
Atheist? Thrown overboard.
Queer? Thrown overboard.
Not white? Thrown overboard.
Muslim? Thrown overboard.
Jewish? Thrown overboard.
Socio-politically left of Adolf Hitler? Thrown overboard.
So any minority or unpopular individual has no rights and gets persecuted, which I represent by people getting thrown overboard. With space ships it gets worse, as in getting blasted out of the airlock, though a milder version of this is being left behind on some planet, space station or forced onto a different space ship.
Do you know what is also unlimited democratic/majority rule? A gang rape.
Do you see can happen if there is unlimited democracy with no constitution with rules to regulate it?
Now, contrast that with the
Constitutional Liberty.
Anyone who beats children or tortures animals will automatically get locked in the brig (on-board jail) and handed over to the appropriate government authorities as soon as possible.
Unpopular? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Poor? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Atheist? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Queer? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Not white? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Muslim? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Jewish? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Socio-politically left of Adolf Hitler? Get to stay on like any other passenger.
Should we allow 51% of the population to own and enslave 49% of the population? How about 100% -1 of the population owning and enslaving you?
In Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, should well-educated and well-off heterosexual Caucasian Christians be able to do what they want to everyone else (including indigenous peoples) by simply being the simple majority?
In China, should the Chinese Communist Party be allowed to imprison, enslave, and genocide Uigirs and other minorities by simply being the simple majority?
In Israel and Palestine, should Israelis do whatever they want to the Palestinians and everyone else who is not both Jewish AND Zionist by simply being the simple majority?
I can go on forever.
We've seen this plenty of times. One group conquering and subjugating the other.
And lacking a strong constitution makes it even easier for one party rule, dictatorships and authoritarianism to happen.
We have actually seen this kind of thing happen.
Do you see what absolute and unlimited democracy can lead to? The implication that anyone who does not support absolute and unlimited democracy supports fascism, oligarchy and/or autocracy is a complete and total false dichotomy. In mob rule, being unpopular or in the minority would be indistinguishable from fascism. Remember that Hitler and the National Socialists were democratically put into power in Germany.
Also, a reason why we have representative government and little to no direct democracy (especially outside of minarchy/minimal state) is the issue of merit, or more precisely, the lack of merit.
If you were on a ship, should the people who are merely the most popular be the captain and officers, or should the people who are the most competent about being nautical officers should be the officers and captain? If you were riding on a plane, should everyone take turns being the pilot, or should the individual who is the most competent pilot be the pilot? Would you want to hold a popularity contest on who gets to be your dentist, doctor, or surgeon?
That is why we do not see democracy in business, utilities services, the health ministry/health service, emergency medical/ambulance service, the fire service, law enforcement (police), or the military. Democracy is merely majority rule, not meritocracy.
The market is closer to meritocracy. For example, the automobile market is dominated by private car makers (except for the French Renault Group, which the French State has 15.01% ownership of and I have heard that in China, it is required by law that the state own at least 50% of a business, though I am not sure of this). The East German Trabant series is famously bad, and is considered the worst German automobile and even the worst automobile in the world.
Despite German culture's success in high-quality manufacturing and engineering, East Germany's automotive industry was so bad that government officials imported cars from the Soviet Union and even the mixed-market economy west, specifically brands such as Volvo and Citroen. North Korea's Kim Dynasty and government officials also ride in imported Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus cars, despite North Korea having its own automotive industry.
Official state car - Wikipedia
If it was up to me, I would implement something similar to the Constitution of Oceania (which I would classify as a constitutionally minarchist republic with direct-democracy). While I find it to be very idealistic (I feel like it was optimized for an artificial island country), it still does have some flexibility, with the ability to change with a strong majority through referendum if doing so is vital (use the key alt + f4, and search "95%" "80%", and "66%" for examples).
Examples of changes I would implement are:
Restrictions on legislation:
. Line-item veto.
Elements of government:
. Government law-enforcement agencies.
. Prosecution Branch, with its own law enforcement.
. Bailiffs for the judicial branch.
. Auditing and Anti-Corruption Branch, with its own law enforcement.
. Representative government, with a tricameral system of regional representatives elected through score voting, and two other chambers with one using Schulze Single Transferable Vote and another using the Psi/Harmonic system. In a Federal system, have a quadricameral system, with Senators appointed by the legislatures of constituent political entities (equivalent to a U.S. state).
. Premier, to head the executive branch in domestic policy, especially with the oversight of law enforcement.
. Department of Foreign Affairs and Political missions (embassies/consulates).
Additional powers (a few examples):
. Taxation in 1 of 3 ways: FairTax, land tax, or flat income tax.
. Eminent domain for border (including coastal) defenses or air defenses or during wartime or emergencies.
. Ability for military and law enforcement agencies to respond to disasters.