Translate:
by Gregory John Sammons
Download this document
or continue reading below
Only when a society is built upon direct acknowledgement of these truths can it operate in full accordance with them. This is the guiding principle of Conscientism.
1. The greatest priority for any society is to ensure its own perpetuity. The basis of societal perpetuity is maintaining secure access to the resources from which all provisions are produced. All such resources originate from natural systems, so all societal activities must be performed in a manner that does not threaten the continuity of those systems.
2. Cooperation is humanity’s fundamental survival strategy. A society characterised by exclusion and internal competition for basic provisions cannot be considered cohesively structured, effective in its purpose, or generally beneficial to its constituents.
3. Humans generally work and cooperate according to effective, established protocol. Leaders merely relay and/or enforce instructions; they do not necessarily devise them, and are not necessarily required or even desired to.
4. Inaccurate information detrimentally compromises societal trajectory. Only a consensus of the maximum available number of those with relevant credentials, who have actively recreated the processes and/or expertly reviewed the body of evidence by which a public assertion was rationalised, and subsequently agreed upon its objective integrity, can ensure the greatest likelihood that the asserted information is accurate; and therefore of genuine application to society. Only when significant volumes of factual data, meticulously gathered, strongly supports the voracity of the contention, and no apparent evidence strongly contradicts it, should such information be formally recognised and utilised as being accurate, and therefore applicable.
5. Humans generally recognise and appreciate that observing rules provides common order, safety, and fairness. Fear of punishment is not necessarily a significant motivating factor for compliance. Although rules in general are most likely to be broken for the purpose of self-advancement, the specific rules most likely to be broken are those considered unjust.
6. Humans perceive 3 Fundamental Injustices:
It is a society member’s fundamental Right to expect protection from these Injustices. It is a society member’s fundamental Responsibility to help prevent and correct these Injustices. It is society’s collective, central purpose to administer and maintain accordant Rights and Responsibilities.
7. Society functions solely through the contributions of its members. Members must be continuously instilled with the physical and intellectual capacity – and psychological incentive – to make and maintain beneficial contributions, amenably. Those contributions, and subsequent rewards, must therefore comply with these Fundamental Truths, and so produce only minimal detriment, if any at all is necessary.
8. Humans crave happiness, contentment, fulfilment. A genuinely beneficial society seeks to provide the most appropriate and accessible means to achieve such a state of mind universally, as a constant primary objective.
Any strategy in direct ethical compliance with the Fundamental Truths, that supersedes existing strategy or is not sufficiently represented in this section, shall be considered eligible to be included equally in this section until it is itself superseded, or otherwise proven incompatible with Conscientist principles.
1. Every Citizen within this Constitution’s jurisdiction shall receive their inalienable Rights.
2. Every Citizen receiving their Rights shall fulfil their Responsibilities.
3. Every Citizen fulfilling their Responsibilities shall qualify for their Entitlements.
4. The Rights, Responsibilities and Entitlements of the Citizen shall reflect those established in this Constitution.
5. All Rights, Responsibilities, and Entitlements shall be administered and allocated through a Central Bureau (existing by that or any equivalent title), and its various applicable departments. The essential role of the Central Bureau is to coordinate all major societal activity in full observance of, and compliance with, this Constitution.
6. The Central Bureau shall maintain a Record (or file) for every Citizen, containing their current and/or previous: ID number, image, name, age, birthplace, address, contact details, marital status, Entitlements, qualifications, skills/abilities, psychometric evaluation, education levels, profession, workplace, professional duties, work history, record of any official reports made by (except on condition of anonymity) or against the Citizen, any criminal history. An abbreviated version shall be held accessible to the Industry Bureau by which the Citizen’s current or prospective profession is administered, containing only name, age, address, contact details, qualifications, skills/abilities, education levels, current profession, current workplace, current duties, work history, and professional behavioural history. Medical history shall be accessible only by applicable health professionals.
7. A Citizen is any human for whom the Central Bureau maintains a comprehensive official Record.
8. Industries are broadly categorised in three sectors:
9. Each specific industry, its practitioners, and the tasks they perform (in the course of honouring their Responsibilities), shall be administered and coordinated through its own Industry Bureau. Exception applies only to the determination of subject matter regarding art and journalism. All Industry Bureaus shall be coordinated through the Central Bureau, operating in absolute accordance with this Constitution.
10. Science as an institution, industry, technique, and knowledge base, shall determine the volume, rate, and methodology by which each and every desired natural resource may be cultivated, extracted, processed, distributed, discarded, and otherwise utilised without causing ecologically-deteriorative or human-endangering effects; while maintaining consistent workloads for an appropriately-sized workforce. These findings shall be acknowledged, recorded and subsequently referenced by the Central Bureau, and thereby constitute lawful Quota and Procedure. All such activities shall abide by only these Quotas and Procedures, wherever practicable.
11. Science shall also continue to explore, research, develop and create greater general understanding of the world and universe, as well as technology that does not contradict or undermine Conscientist objectives.
12. The primary purpose for any material resource shall be to address societal Requirement, hereby defined as: that which aids the protection of ecology; or aids in honouring the Rights of the Human, Child, or Species.
13. Only when societal Requirement is comprehensively addressed shall any resource that would otherwise fulfil Requirement be instead allocated to the provision of supplementary Entitlements, hereby defined as: provisions that do not necessarily sustain life, but nonetheless enrich the experience of it (according to its recipients).
14. Entitlements shall be awarded either in the form of non-transferable Credits – essentially, single-use funds of limited application – or as a general Access Permit, depending on which is more appropriate for the nature of the provision. In either case the subject’s Identification Number (or code) shall be produced and recorded as primary means of access to provision. Where technology allows, an electronic database shall instantly confirm or deny Entitlement, record the transaction and recalibrate the account accordingly. In its most basic, low-tech form, the Citizen must carry Proof of their Entitlements (in some form of official document), to which the vendor refers (and recalibrates, where Credits apply) before surrendering the provision. A record of the transaction shall be provided to the Central Bureau to be confirmed as legitimate; any dishonesty detected can thereon be retroactively pursued with the perpetrator.
15. Entitlement qualification shall be divided into two main categories: Contributions that protect ecology and/or serve to honour Rights (Class A); and Contributions that produce Entitlements and other recreation/entertainment (Class B). Entitlements shall be awarded primarily according to the Qualification class through which they were earned: rewards for Contributions in the latter category (Class B) shall not equal or exceed those for the former category (Class A).
16. Certain standards of effort and attainment in study, regarding Class A education, shall also qualify as a Contribution, and thereby earn relatively modest Entitlements. Class B education shall not generate Entitlements.
17. Entitlements awarded to specific individuals within a Qualification class shall be determined by their relative Contribution, according to their workload, extent and depth of preparatory training required, hazard risk (once all safety precautions have been implemented), general competence (i.e. lack of incompetence) and compliance with their Responsibilities; with bonus Entitlements credited for innovation that subsequently becomes Standard Occupational Procedure.
18. The relative “value” of a provision – the level of Entitlement one is required to reach before it may become accessible – is determined by its relative abundance/scarcity, extravagance of design and material (especially relevant for capitalist-era products), and general desirability (which can be measured). However where production methods of a more-desirable provision are comparable to those of a similar, but less-desirable provision, production of the superior provision should be prioritised accordingly; inferior provisions must never be produced for the sole purpose of ensuring that a good standard of quality can only be accessed exclusively.
19. The distribution of excess societal wealth shall be governed by the principle of maximising accessibility and diversity, whilst minimising overall waste and consumption. Accordingly, of the resources allocated to the provision of Entitlements, the amount allocated to a particular interest, relative to any other, shall be primarily determined by its consumption rate of resources, relative to the overall number of willing participants. Generally, interests that demand little consumption (beyond an initial provision of appropriate equipment, maintenance requirements, or inevitable long-term degradation of that equipment), shall be given first priority. Interests that inherently require semi-regular replacement of a minor proportion of utilised equipment shall take second priority, and those that demand a high rate of replacement on major proportions of equipment, third priority. Further-refining determinants include whether or not the resource is renewable, biodegradable or otherwise salvageable and reusable once its purpose has been exhausted.
20. It shall be the task of a dedicated, specialist department in the Central Bureau to devise, maintain, and constantly revise an Entitlement allocation system that complies with the above parameters – and those of Conscientism generally – while acknowledging the reasonable wishes of the Citizenry, to their general satisfaction.
21. All societal contribution (vocational activity), including design and manufacture of provisions, shall comply with established Standard Occupational Procedure (variations of which may be numerous, but never fundamentally contradictory). Standard Occupational Procedure, to qualify as such, shall be assessed only for its accordance with the following parameters, in their stated priority order:
1st Priority (mandatory):
2nd Priority (preferable):
Every available practitioner of every applicable science, in conjunction with the applicable Industry, shall collectively determine either actively or through peer review, while utilising the most accurate methods available, the methodologies that are most compliant. These findings shall be acknowledged and recorded by the applicable Industry Bureau, and thereby constitute lawful Standard Occupational Procedure. They shall be regularly (as often as is deemed scientifically necessary) reassessed and updated. All such activities shall abide by only these Standard Occupational Procedures. Further innovation shall be presented for assessment, and approved before being vocationally practiced. Of pre-existing practices, all shall automatically be presumed official Standard Procedure unless doubts are raised (by any relevant party) regarding their compliance, or they have been superseded by a later-introduced practice. All known practices, whether rendered compliant or otherwise, shall be comprehensively described and recorded by the applicable Industry Bureau, as official law, and for reference purposes.
22. Every workplace shall maintain an up-to-date record of Standard Occupational Procedure relevant to that workplace, as provided by the Industry Bureau, and govern its practices accordingly.
23. A Code of Ethics, plus related Codes of Practice and Conduct, based primarily upon Conscientist principles, in conjunction with the specific requirements of the particular vocation, shall be included in, and constitute a major component of, Standard Occupational Procedure (SOP). These Codes shall be composed by some, amended by any, and approved by all, members of the vocation and its symbiotic vocations, and confirmed for requisite principles-compliance through Central administrative assessment, and Science where required.
24. Management positions, functioning only in direct compliance with SOP, shall exist for the sole purpose of group coordination. They shall hold no discretionary authority, except in situations where no SOP exists and prompt guidance is imperative. The manager can be considered the SOP’s animate representative; only a messenger, and therefore the equal of those managed. SOP, this Constitution, and the Fundamental Truths they observe, shall be considered the only true hierarchy of superiors. Mutual respect must however pervade all interpersonal dealings, especially where levels of expertise differ.
25. Only general agreement among scientists practising in relevant fields, that all aspects of a societal pursuit comply (or not) with the requisite parameters, shall constitute an official decree by which to approve (or deny) implementation of that pursuit.
26. All societal projects – hereby defined as: Any plan requiring the allocation of societal resources – shall be initially proposed to the Central Bureau by any Citizen, either as a lone proposition or in the form of a petition; it will thereby become publicly acknowledged and recorded – in equal proportion to all others – assessed for accordance with requisite principles, and addressed according to the determinants of Relative Priority. This states that available resources must be allocated to projects addressing the Primary Function primarily, unless the specific material is no longer required by, or does not apply to, that function. Projects addressing a given Function shall be prioritised according to the determinants: Material Availability, Material Requirement, Volume of Those Affected, Urgency of the Situation (Rate of Deterioration), State of Deterioration (eg. broken but still usable); and any further strategy that refines these determinants to more accurately determine relative priority whilst maintaining compliance with fundamental principles.
27. Repair shall take precedence over wholesale replacement, unless the object is fundamentally compromised, or the replacement is significantly more Principles-Compliant than the repairable version. Retrofitting of compliant components, where possible, and where the subsequent result is significantly increased compliance, shall take precedence over both wholesale replacement and standard repair.
28. The conventional concept of ownership, which essentially implies the right to destroy or otherwise maltreat a possession, with impunity, or to trade or lease it for monetary gain, shall no longer apply. The term shall refer only informally, to custody of property that has been permanently allocated, or is of a non-transferable utility. All material property shall be considered a societal asset; possession of property shall be allocated under terms of custody, subject to conditions. Property must be utilised for its intended, or an otherwise appropriate, purpose, or otherwise surrendered to be repatriated. Neglect and vandalism prohibited, and punishable; maintenance of property mandatory, to be undertaken by one sufficiently qualified. Undisturbed but suitable storage permitted for the purpose of preservation, esp. of heirlooms, antiques, records, etc. Reasonable probability of future use otherwise required to retain possession, plus compelling reason why particular asset should remain (as opposed to a similar item being provided if and when actually required).
29. All products and services available to the Citizen shall have their existence and description equally and accessibly publicised, with no disproportionate publicity towards, or irrelevant or unproven claims about the qualities of, any particular product or service, or its provider. User reviews and ratings shall be encouraged and subsequently utilised as relevant and accessible data. Information relaying any proven health risk associated with the product or service shall be explicitly provided at every appropriate opportunity.
30. Only if in compliance with Conscientist principles regarding their material selection and sourcing, and otherwise causes no unnecessary destruction or suffering, shall products manufactured by non-Conscientist states be legally imported. Conscientist principles shall apply to all aspects of export.
31. An autonomous Conscientist State shall reserve the right to claim all money earned by its Citizens (such as the creators and/or purveyors of intellectual property) that permissibly trade with existing capitalist states/entities. These funds shall primarily serve as an allowance supply for international travellers (such as those same Citizens, plus others so Entitled); any surplus shall accumulate for security. Only those who surrender their earnings made while travelling (or residing elsewhere) shall receive such allowance. Only those physically residing in a Conscientist jurisdiction can be guaranteed their Rights and Entitlements.
32. Military activity shall consist only of defence against external invasion, or a violent internal uprising against genuine Conscientism (a society which is in uncompromised compliance with this Constitution). International conflict pacification and peacekeeping shall be considered the exclusive responsibility of a United Nations that is bound by the dictates of an ethical constitution that advocates and establishes standard procedure. Global economic cooperation under Conscientist principles is an ultimate necessity.
33. Crime shall be defined by, and as, any act constituting an Injustice, as defined in the 6th Fundamental Truth of Human Society. Identification of such crimes shall be performed by those trained in Ethical and Moral Philosophy. Relatively contentious/ambiguous findings shall be referred to a Public Consensus among all so Entitled, who have demonstrated – through an effective test – a calm and rational understanding of all relevant (and substantiated) arguments and perspectives regarding the issue.
34. Severity of punishment applicable to a crime shall be of comparable magnitude to the extent of detriment caused. It shall also however be influenced by the perpetrator’s rehabilitation prospects. Rehabilitation shall be the primary strategy of the Correctional sector. Appropriate opportunities for redemption shall be regularly afforded, and appropriately acknowledged.
35. Any and all factors shown – through rigorous Psychological inquest and consensus – to contribute towards optimal human satisfaction and wellbeing generally, and performance in situations of responsibility, shall directly influence Education, Standard Occupational Procedure, Codes of Ethics, the Judiciary, the honouring of Rights, and the allocation of Entitlements.
36. Primary education shall prioritise and emphasise broad skill development: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, cultural, and technical. The ability to employ and strengthen inquisitive, rational, creative, considerate, compassionate and diverse thought, reason and awareness, shall be considered the ultimate purpose of primary education. The cultivation of an aspiration for self-improvement, and societal contribution, shall also be prioritised. Philosophy and Morality/Ethics shall constitute a major component of learning; all major religions, without exception, shall be objectively examined – without dogma or judgement – and all explained in their historical and sociological contexts. Science, as the source of all fact-based knowledge, shall be demonstrably acknowledged as such; its relevance emphasised, and its method and basic principles of logic and reasoning demonstrated and reinforced, at every appropriate juncture. Student engagement is the primary objective of the education system. The most efficient means to effective, universal engagement must be scientifically determined and implemented.
Copyright © 2019 Conscientism.earth - All Rights Reserved.