Political Principles
Upd: 25 Feb 2007
These are my principles of government. It's essential to have principles. They can be hard to live by sometimes, but you gotta try. Polticians with no principles are like designers with no ideas...
- SUSTAINABILITY - All countries should be fully sustainable in terms of finance and environment.
- GOVERNMENT'S JOB - Government's job is to increase the freedom and wealth of it's citizens by engineering markets through tax and providing state services.
- LESS IS MORE - Less government is better government.
- THE LAW SHOULD BE COMMON KNOWLEDGE - The law should be simple enough for the layman to understand.
- FREEDOM OF ACTION and CONSCIENCE - People should be free to do what they want - as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. People should be free to act according to their consciences.
- MARKET FORCES WORK - Market forces work. They should be implemented in every aspect of society where a monopoly does not exist by necessity.
- MONOPOLIES MUST BE STATE OWNED - Required monopolies should be state owned. (i.e. the electricity grid, train tracks...). and privately managed, in regions, by public tender.
1) SUSTAINABILITY
Each country should be sustainable in terms of finance and environment.
Sustainablility is the *only* way to guarantee that we can continue living as well as we do. If we live in an unsustainable way then it is inevitable that at some point, the standard of living will decrease. If not for all, then more so for some.
Living sustainably is easy. However, only if we produce more than we consume - can everyone's standard of living increase indefinitely.
If we are dependant on other countries for the things we need, then we are not a sovreign state.
There's more about this on the Sustainability page
2) GOVERNMENT'S JOB
Government's job is to increase the freedom and wealth of it's citizens.
Government was invented to provide an consistent infrastructure to society. We pay our taxes for this infrastructure - so people can go about their business without fear of crime, without having to make their own roads, organise their own schools etc.
Modern-day government is so bloated and powerful - it has lost sight of this. Government thinks it has value - in and of itself. Taxpayers are now obliged to support the government - no matter what it does - whether it provides value for money or not. Politicians are quite keen on 'performance related pay' for everyone, except themselves.
It's noticable, how the government has become consistently worse at providing the basics, while spending ever more on grandiose, ill-conceived schemes - a perfect example of which is the Millenium Dome.
It doesn't matter which political party has been in power. They have all contributed to the steady decline in standards.
Modern day taxation is little short of a legitamised extortion racket. Pay, or have violence done to you... This article is pretty good - it's about the USA - but it still applies: Taxation Is Extortion - by Marcel Votlucka
The current Labour government has also undermined 2 of the our basic rights: The right to free speech, and the right to a trial by jury.
The current climate of oppression in the UK allows free speech to be seen as a thing that should be be limited and controlled - but then it's not free any more is it - you muppets!
Article: Free Speech In The UK?
3) LESS IS MORE
Less government is better government.
Government produces no wealth for the country. The government has no money of it's own.
It is not a business - it sells no products and all services it provides are (in theory) free.
The best the government can hope to do - is help businesses bring in wealth.
The more government there is - the higher the burden on businesses - the less competitive they are. It is government's duty to minimise this burden by being as efficient as possible.
4) THE LAW SHOULD BE COMMON KNOWLEDGE
The law should be simple enough for the layman to understand
Our over complicated, archaic legal system is a monumental waste of national resources. It's inefficient to the extreme, arbitrary and unfair. and vastly expensive. It rarely even fulfills the task it's supposed to acheive - which is justice (remember?)
Many of the best minds in the country are wasted - by being lawyers. Just imagine what those people might do for the country if they were useful members of it - instead of being nothing but a self-important drain on it.
There's more about this on the Law page
5) FREEDOM OF ACTION
People should be free to do what they want - as long as it doesn't harm anyone else
Surely this is an inalienable human-right.
This right has been taken away from us, bit by bit, over the decades. The thing I've recently noticed is - that everyone seems to have been conditioned to think its ok...
If we can't find ways to protect the vulnerable while still allowing everyone else their freedom - then we haven't looked hard enough!
Yeah, ok, I'm not talking about bungee jumping, but I am talking about drugs and euthanasia...
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE
People should be free to act according to their consciences
- Gay people should be able to be free to live the way they want.
- Catholics adoption agencies should be able to be free to work the way they want.
- Muslim women should be free to wear their niqabs - if they want.
- Employers should be free to hire and pay as they see fit.
The provider of the desired item should be free to deny access to the service they provide according to their own conscience.
This means that bedsits should be free to deny rooms to gay couples, or even coloured folk if they want to. Please note that I personally wouldn't deny services to such people - because I'm totally not bigoted, but if people want to be bigots - I think they should be free to realise how stupid that is for themselves, rather than having it forced on them by law... I'm not conviced that morality should be part of law at all...
Muslim women should be free to cover themselves up if they like (even though it is clearly not required by islamic scripture). Equally employers should be able to not employ them - if they want.
6) MARKET FORCES WORK
Market forces are an effective way of managing society.
Market forces are routinely manipulated by government. If they were manipulated competantly we would not have: global warming, a pensions crisis, unemployment, falling manufacturing...
Life is all about business. Once you're a grown up you either sell your time or your products to other people. That's how humans live...
The markets should be free to generate wealth and innovation as they see fit, but with the careful management of the business environment by a competatant government.
Far too much socialist bullshit is talked about business... People have to realise that business is the only way that things get done in this world. Government cannot exist without business - because government produces nothing that people need. The things it does provide are funded by taxes on businesses. That is where all the money in this country comes from... If we want people to be wealthier we need more business, and less state...
7) MONOPOLIES MUST BE STATE OWNED
Required monopolies should be state owned and privately managed.
i.e. the electricity grid, train tracks...
All country-wide infrastructure should be owned by the people. It should be split into regions and private companies should tender for it's maintenance and upgrade.
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