The Progressive Party

[Zimmerwald]

Thoughts:

Liberty: All persons have the rights to life, property and to act and think freely. TheTaijitu’s institutions of government must be organized to defend these liberties from themselves, Taijitu’s and other governments, and from the criminal acts of individuals.

Solidarity: The success of individuals depends on the success of society and the success of society on the success of individualsSociety and individuals rely upon each other’s achievements for their own. Government must protect individuals from arbitrary hardship and preserve their opportunties to success and fullfillment. Individuals who can must give back to society in return [for such proction and opportunities/so that others can be given the same protections and opportunities].

Justice: All persons have a right to equal treatment in both the public and private spheres. Individuals must all be equal before the law and government policy. Private transactions must be conducted fairly, and where necessary the government must impose regulations to ensure such equity.

Democracy: Government must be directly accountable to those ruled by means free and fair elections, direct petitions and referendums. Its business must be transparent and always open to public scrutiny.

Reason: Policies enacted in the pursuit of these goals must be informed by evidence and the rigorous testing of ideas, not rhetoric simply stated as truth without support. When necessary, compromise should be pursued rather than avoided.

Without markup:

Liberty: All persons have the rights to life, property and to act and think freely. Taijitu’s institutions of government must be organized to defend these liberties from Taijitu’s and other governments, and from the criminal acts of individuals.

Solidarity: Society and individuals rely upon each other’s achievements for their own. Government must protect individuals from arbitrary hardship and preserve their opportunties to success and fullfillment. Individuals who can must give back to society in return.

Justice: All persons have a right to equal treatment in both the public and private spheres. Individuals must all be equal before the law and government policy. Private transactions must be conducted fairly, and where necessary the government must impose regulations to ensure such equity.

Democracy: Government must be directly accountable to those ruled by means free and fair elections, direct petitions and referendums. Its business must be transparent and always open to public scrutiny.

Reason: Policies enacted in the pursuit of these goals must be informed by evidence and the rigorous testing of ideas, not rhetoric simply stated as truth without support. When necessary, compromise should be pursued rather than avoided.

[Gulliver]

The explicit inclusion of "Taijitu" in the first greatly impedes an internationalist reading. I think it might be better to just use your original suggestion of "government" instead of "institutions of government" that I used, so that the pronoun is singular and thus not confusable with "liberties". While we're on the topic, if we want to go for a more internationalist broad proposal, is "other governments" necessary or are all governments covered by a broad use of the term "government"?

I do like the more straightforward way of communicating reciprocity in Solidarity, but I still prefer "success" to "achievements". This would be another point for Elu to weigh in on.

Liberty: All persons have the rights to life, property and to act and think freely. Government must be organized to defend these liberties from itself[, other governments] and from the criminal acts of individuals.

Solidarity: Society and individuals rely upon each other’s achievements for their own [alternative proposal: "The success of society and individuals are fundamentally linked" or similar construction]. Government must protect individuals from arbitrary hardship and preserve their opportunities to success and fulfilment, and individuals who can must give back to society in return.

Justice: All persons have a right to equal treatment in both the public and private spheres. Individuals must all be equal before the law and government policy. Private transactions must be conducted fairly, and where necessary the government must impose regulations to ensure such equity.

Democracy: Government must be directly accountable to those ruled by means free and fair elections, direct petitions and referendums. Its business must be transparent and always open to public scrutiny.

Reason: Policies enacted in the pursuit of these goals must be informed by evidence and the rigorous testing of ideas, not rhetoric simply stated as truth without support. When necessary, compromise should be pursued rather than avoided.

[Zimmerwald]

Instead of changing "governments to singular, why not change "these liberties"?  The sentence would end up looking something like this: "Governments must be organized to defend liberty from themselves, their counterparts, and from the criminal acts of individuals."

I still think "success" is too vague.  Success at what?  Well, it's left undefined at the moment, so it can be anything towards which a society sets its mind.  I think, however, that the ProP has a vision, and that this is as good a place as any to express it.  Like so: "The progress of society towards justice and the progress of individuals towards their potential are fundamentally linked."  We want to move forward towards a just society of the most full and complete people (and we're asserting that the movement of history is in that direction).  Besides, we're the progressive party, and the word should appear somewhere in our platform that's not the heading or the statutes. 

[Eluvatar]

The party congress on IRC including all 4 members has decided on:

Liberty: All persons have the rights to life, property and to act and think freely. Governments must be organized to defend these liberties from all threats.

Solidarity: Society and individuals depend on one another for success. Society, through government when necessary, must protect individuals from arbitrary hardship and aid them in their pursuits, and individuals who can must give back to society in return.

Justice: All persons have a right to equal treatment in both the public and private spheres. Individuals must all be equal before the law and government policy. Private business must be conducted fairly, and government must ensure this.

Democracy: Government must be directly accountable to those it serves. Its business must be transparent and open to public scrutiny.

Reason: Decisions should be informed by reflection and evidence.

[Eluvatar]

I was wrong when I said all 4 members. Myroria was absent.

The full current list of members:
1. Gulliver
2. Eluvatar
3. Myroria
4. SeriousWast
5. Gallipoli-China
6. Towlie
7. Salty

[Eluvatar]

The Second Party Congress also elected officers for the party:

Secretary: Gulliver
Spokesperson: Gallipoli-China

[Myroria]

I have returned from my spontaneous hiatus so I will be able to participate in party matters again.

[Gulliver]

Ah, wonderful, welcome back good sir.