I’ve been trying to type up a nice explanation of my ideal government concept,
but I’m too lazy to actually finish the job, so I figure a thread in which
you can all mock my ideas will get done faster.
MHallexitopia is not to be the name for this concept, but it seems to be
tradition. Any better idea for a name will be welcomed.
And no, I have not, nor do I intend to, write an anthem.
This isn’t the entire plan, but its the more important portions, and enough
to get an idea of the concept.
This 'topia is intended to be a meritocracy. It is also an attempt to address
some of the flaws of capitalism, without resorting to socialism (which has
all sorts of problems of its own.) Not all of the ideas are mine; I’ve borrowed
freely from others, whose names I don’t remember.
Now if we want a meritocracy we need to eliminate any other bias and allow
people to compete solely on their own merit. I like to call this "equality
of opportunity."
How do we achieve such a state?
First off we need to eliminate inherited wealth. This eliminates the unfair
advantage of the heirs and creates an upper class of noveau-rich, self-made
wealthy people. This can be accomplished by extremely high inheritance taxes.
When I say high, I mean that you would be able to inherit family heirlooms
and other items of sentimental value, but little else.
Education is another way in which we can keep the playing field even. Education
would no longer be public, that is free schooling from the gov't. Each individual
could go to any school they wanted (either a private school, or a government
run school.) Each student would pay a percentage of their future income to
the government to cover the costs of their education. Students who perform
better in school and wish for a more extensive education can choose too pledge
more of their income in exchange for a higher quality of schooling. Those
students whose strengths do not lie in academics can choose to get an education
at a less-expensive school.
This system could be applied to all levels of education, from elementary
schools to graduate schools, with different percentages of future earnings
being taken for a trade school as opposed to an Ivy League college.
The market of this world would also be free, with one exception (which I'll
get into later.) Unfair advantages, such as government subsides, protective
tariffs and similar methods wouldn’t exist. Consumers could buy the highest
quality, cheapest product without politicians attempting to interfere in
the market.
However there is one exception to this free market. Advertising is banned.
Advertising serves to create a false demand for a product. All products should
stand on their own merits. Consumers will buy one brand of soda as opposed
to another because of the merits of the soda, not because of an ad campaign.
The money saved by eliminating the expenses related to advertising could
instead be spent improving the products, and thus gaining an advantage over
the competition.
Now how to govern this society?
I believe in a very small government, which is very decentralized.
The role of the state is twofold:
1-To defend its citizens (from both foreign attacks and criminals)
2-to undertake projects that are too large, or too long-term for an individual
to undertake (i.e. the space program)
The government would be democratic, but voting rights would need to be earned.
It would be relatively simple to do so; one would only need to pass a standardized
examination that proves they understand how the government works, their rights,
perhaps some history etc.
It would not be a particularly complex exam; it would be something that anyone
who had bothered to pay attention in his or her schooling would have learned.
Those who obtained full citizenship could then participate in the political
process. On a local level the government would be a pure democracy, something
along the lines of the Athenian assembly, where everyone could speak and
contribute.
Once we get to the upper levels of government such an assembly becomes impractical
because of the large number of voters. Here an assembly of elected representatives
handles most of the governance, although national referendums would be required
to pass certain laws (budgets, amendments to Constitution and other big-ticket
items.)
The ban on advertising would also apply to political campaigns, so politicians
would also have to rely on their merits to get elected. The only way for
them to campaign would be speeches, and debates. Both put the candidate on
the spot and force them to sell their ideas to the public, as opposed to
running a series of attack ads.
Individual liberties would be almost limitless. Provided you aren’t doing
harm to others (or have their consent to do things) then its well within
your rights to do so. You want to sleep with another man, marry your cousin,
smoke pot, and commit suicide? In MHallexitopia, we wont try and stop you.
Taxes would be low. Income would be taxed at a flat rate, and would only
be taxed to provide monies for the military, police and judicial systems.
A small fee (tiny percentage) would be charged to security exchanges in exchange
for government protection of that contract. You pay the fee; you can sue
the other guy for not honoring the deal (see Ayn Rand’s Virtue of Selfishness
for a better explanation of that concept.) Inheritance taxes would be very
high, but the deceased would have a choice to where that money goes. They
could write what is, in effect, a will indicating where they want that money
to be spent (i.e. on the military, on a space program, on disaster relief)
if the deceased didn’t indicate a preference it would go into the general
governmental budget.
Okay, that’s all I can think of writing down at the moment.
Your questions, ideas and criticisms are welcomed. I expect to see quite
a bit of criticism, since you guys are contrary bastards like that.
There are some flaws in the idea, but I’m working on them. The paramount
ones (at least in my mind) is how to deal with the influence of those who
have obtained wealth trying to give their children an unfair advantage (getting
them a cushy job and other such things.)
