The Essential-Liberalism Manifesto (Article XI)
XI. STATE DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS
1. Grant citizenship:
The state has the duty to grant citizenship to all individuals
meeting the enumerated legal criteria (typically those born in the
state, those born to existing citizens of the state, and those who
emigrated and underwent naturalization).
2. Protect: The state
has the duty to protect its citizens’ vital interests from harm
originating externally or within the state, by maintaining a police
force, armed forces, border patrol, intelligence services, and
related agencies, and equipping them properly to meet the tasks they
face in the present and may likely face in the future. A notable
governmental priority in protecting the public domestically is
combating organized crime and armed gangs. The possession of heavy
weaponry and its use is vested exclusively in the hands of the
governmental bodies in charge of defense and security. No group of
citizens may band together to form competing armed bodies to those
of the state. A volunteer or compulsory armed services may be
complemented during wartime by a general draft.
The governmental duty to protect and
promote public safety also encompasses disaster preparedness and
early warning of likely threats to the citizens’ vital interests. It
also encompasses the protection of public health in such areas as
sanitation, disease control, and preventive care, and includes the
limited power to impose a health quarantine and involuntary
hospitalization.
Other specified causes of considerable harm
to the general public are to be prevented, regulated, or outlawed by
the state, such as certain dangerous products, controlled
substances, and hazardous materials, as well as particularly unsafe
industries and work conditions.
In cases of true emergency, the state’s
duty to protect its citizens may override citizens’ fundamental
rights, but only to the extent and duration necessary to ensure the
safety and well-being of the general population.
3. Bring to justice those that harm
society and its citizens: The state has the duty to
apprehend individuals who harm society by their commission of
crimes, to try them, and if found guilty—to impose punishments and
ensure they are carried out.
Though every individual has the right to
self-defense, only the state and its policing, judicial, and
enforcement agencies are entrusted with the administration of
justice, including the imposition of punishments (except in civil
cases where the parties can agree to alternative dispute
resolution).
4. Defend citizens’ broader interests:
The state has the duty to defend the interests and concerns of its
citizens as against other states and/or their citizens, including at
diplomatic and consular stations of the state in foreign countries.
The duty to defend citizens’ broader interests also includes
defending the rights of domestic businesses and promoting their
interests, especially those stemming from their intellectual
property rights.
5. Welcome foreign visitors and
immigrants: The state is responsible for creating an
orderly means by which citizens of other countries who meet certain
enumerated criteria can enter the state legally for purposes of
tourism, pilgrimage, family visits, investment, business, and
employment, as well as for relocating to the state for permanent
residence and citizenship. The state should ensure that its
immigration policy does not result in the undermining of the
essential-liberalist character of society.
6. Grant asylum: The
state has to strive to take in as a refugee at its borders or at its
embassies abroad anyone for whom there is a high likelihood of
facing serious harm to themselves if they are
denied entry by the state and are forced to return to their home
country (which is not essential liberalist), provided
the actions of such person for which they are sought at their home
country are not ones that stem from violating the fundamental rights
of others.
7. Protect the environment:
Harm of a certain magnitude to the natural environment is a crime,
with regulation typically encompassing issues involving the
environmental impact of human-produced waste (in particular, the
disposal of materials deemed toxic to the land, water, or air) and
the improper interference with vegetation, streams, and wildlife on
public land. The state is also to encourage protection of the
natural environment with an eye towards long-term conservation of
its resources, biodiversity, and beauty, and with consideration for
its benefit to, and enjoyment by, all citizens. This includes the
right to designate some areas as protected public lands or parks.
The state also has the duty to preserve cultural and religious sites
of great historical significance.
8. Protect animal welfare:
Cruelty to animals is a crime; the possession of certain animals
(particularly dangerous or endangered species) is a crime; the
handling and transportation of some animals (typically farm animals,
dangerous animals, and animals used in medical experimentation) is
to
be regulated by the state; and humane treatment of all animals is
strongly encouraged.
9. Demand contributions:
The state has the right to demand monetary contributions in the form
of taxation to fund the operation of its essential-liberalist duties
and functions. State residents who do not
contribute as required face enumerated legal consequences—up to, and
including, incarceration. The total of all taxes demanded by the
state (national and local) should not exceed 50% of any
resident’s before-tax income, except in times of national emergency.
In addition, taxes cannot be used to set a limit on the amount of
profit an individual or a business can make or wealth they may
accumulate, or to redistribute income from one group of residents to
another.
10. Pass laws not inconsistent with
these fundamental rights and principles: The
legislature has the duty to pass, by majority vote, laws that
implement the Essential Liberalism tenets. Such laws will often place certain limits on citizens’
rights in consideration of the need to further the public safety,
order, health, and morals. These laws must be narrowly drafted to
ensure they do not overly or needlessly limit the citizens’ exercise
of their fundamental rights, with only the most vital restrictions
placed on personal solitary conduct done in the confines of one’s
home.
Laws that plainly or largely nullify or
negate the Essential Liberalism tenets are immoral and illegal per
se. If, nonetheless, the highest court in the land has ruled such
laws to be legal and either the legislative or executive branches of
government (or both) agree with such ruling, OR if the highest court
has deemed such laws to be illegal but the legislative or executive
branches of government refuse to obey the court’s ruling, the
citizenry has the right to resort to extraordinary measures, up to
and including civil disobedience, until such time as the offensive
laws are rescinded or practices stopped.
11. Pass laws in furtherance of the
spirit of these fundamental rights and principles:
The legislature has the right to pass, by majority vote, laws that
are not inconsistent with these fundamental rights and principles in
order to promote the well-being of the citizens and of the
environment in which they live, and to make society more just,
compassionate, and prosperous.
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Page last updated: October 15, 2008