“Egora” is a contraction of “electronic” and “agora”. “Agora” is an ancient Greek term meaning “gathering place”. For the ancient Greeks the agora of a town served as the center of public life, where people could socialize, do business, and hold discussions. Egora follows in that ancient Greek spirit, but its main function is to enable a new form of democratic organization, one that is rational, efficient, and incorruptible – i.e. Intelligent Democracy.
To explain it most briefly, Egora enables everyone to
- develop their own political philosophy out of various ideas,
- determine which ideas are most strongly supported by the people,
- organize meetings to examine and deliberate any ideas, and
- use a simple algorithm to find the true representatives of the public will.
However, Intelligent Democracy would not be possible without a community that is dedicated to using reason to make sense out of a chaos. Thus, Egora is actually the home of the International Logic Party (ILP), and we have built Egora to organize ourselves. We want philosophers to have the advantage over demagogues in politics, and Egora makes our mission possible. But you do not have to be a member of the ILP to use Egora. We want democracy to be available to everyone, and we invite you to use Egora to develop and express your philosophy regardless of your affiliations. Furthermore, because Egora technology is so versatile, it is possible for any other community to use Egora to democratically organize themselves too.
Lastly, Egora is free to use and protected by Copyleft. If you are dissatisfied with this Egora, you can create your own version of it, and you can use the code of this Egora to start. Egora welcomes all competition. May the best ideas win!
In our sophisticated society with a complex economy we recognize that, while we must incentivize people to be productive members of our society, the value of the contributions of some members to society cannot easily be gauged by their activity in the market (for example, parents, artists, philosophers, community servants, etc.). Furthermore, we recognize that markets can fail to reward people despite their best efforts to be productive. For this reason, we should institute a Universal Basic Income (UBI).
Section 1.
Justice is the friendship of strangers.
Section 2.
The focus of the criminal justice system shall be on rehabilitation—especially through education, life-coaching, and job training—rather than on punishment. Those who cannot be reformed sufficiently for eventual return to society shall be given a choice between continued institutionalization or release into a well-guarded, natural location.
Section 1.
All people have the right to life and pursuit of their own happiness, as long as they do not actively deprive others of the same.
Section 2.
All people have the right to select partners of their own preference – the bond between two consenting adults is no one's concern but their own. The organs of the state are in place only to assist romantic couples, not to impede them, and will do so equally for all couples.
Section 3.
Section 1.
Voting is not a simple nor self-evident process. In fact, there are various voting systems (plurality, approval, ranked-choice, range, Condorcet, etc.), and they can produce very different results. Some systems can even deteriorate the dynamics of democracy within the voting population by forcing the voters to vote "strategically" rather than authentically, which in turn enables certain interest groups to artificially divide the public and exploit that for their own advantage.
Around the world there are many oppressive regimes that violate the basic standards for a decent human life:
- freedom of bodily autonomy
- freedom of sexuality,
- freedom of gender,
- freedom of philosophy,
- freedom of religion,
- freedom of speech,
- freedom of assembly,
- freedom of travel,
- and freedom of business.
These regimes are not in power because the people want them in power but because one group of people has strategically maneuvered themselves into positions of power, and they violently suppress any opposition to their hegemony.
In order to reduce the destructive impact of our society on the environment and to enhance the stability of both our society and the environment, we must make immediate efforts to switch the vast majority of our energy infrastructure (at least civilian) to sources of energy that are not destructive to the environment. In the short to mid term, this means relying mainly on energy from these sources: solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, and nuclear fission. In the long term, this means developing nuclear fusion technology for a practically unlimited source of energy.
No person should ever be coerced into serving in the armed forces of any country, and a military draft should be considered as unacceptable according to our ethical standards. Therefore, if a country is under attack and must defend itself against aggression, a sufficient military force should be raised solely by relying on market forces, mainly in the form of attractive compensation packages, tiered based on the combat roles and associated dangers.
The implementation of this goal should primarily revolve around making the process of adoption as easy as possible for any person or couple able to raise children. Naturally, this will involve adequate resources for confirming the performance of such parents.
For children who are still unable to find individual homes—in addition to the basic needs of food, shelter, healthcare, and education—we must provide a protective, nurturing, and proactive community.
Section 1.
Voting is not a simple nor self-evident process. In fact, there are various voting systems (plurality, approval, range/score, ranked-choice, Condorcet, etc.), and they can produce very different results. Some systems can even deteriorate the dynamics of democracy within the voting population by incentivizing the voters to vote strategically rather than authentically, which in turn enables certain interest groups to artificially divide the public and exploit that for their own advantage.
Section 1.
Medical care is not an ordinary good in the marketplace. The reasons for this fact are numerous. Mainly, what sets medical care apart is that the greatest costs in medical care are not the consequence of easily detectable and alterable behavior patterns of the consumers but rather due to a variety of factors that are unfair, hidden, and complicated. For example, the burdens bestowed upon us by our genetics can be distributed very unfairly in a population.
In order to realize certain values and goals that we hold in common (or compromise to tolerate) in our society—which, for whatever reason, are not best realized through free participation in a market economy—we give our governing bodies the right to levy certain taxes upon us. These taxes consist of six specific types, and each plays its own economic role in distributing the tax burden fairly and efficiently. The specific amounts of each tax are to be determined as needed to cover all government expenditures on the various programs to realize our values and goals.
This idea is based on: https://egora-ilp.org/ideas/730
The job-specific institutions mentioned in the referenced idea could actually ask for money. Those institutions are like training hubs: they just train the students on how to do job X. It's like going to the gym; it's a paid service - but you have access to all training machines and probably to coaches as well.
On the other hand, universities are for those people who just want to learn, want to know, and want to find out how this universe works or what this universe is.
We should teach Esperanto in schools as the global language for the human species. Firstly, for the obvious reasons of being an almost universally easy language to learn with only three tenses, changing only a vowel to change a tense. Esperanto has an established culture of humanism, inclusivity and cooperation dating back more than 150 years. It is a gentle, forward thinking notion of around two million people. It did have a tiny renaissance over the last couple of years that seemed to be directly tied to the upturn in Veganism.
Section 1.
In our sophisticated society with a complex economy we recognize that, while we must incentivize people to be productive members of our society, the value of the contributions of some members to our society cannot be easily gauged by their activity in the market, for example: parents, artists, innovators, philosophers, and community servants. Nevertheless, these people deserve to be compensated for the value that they contribute.
In order to reduce the destructive impact of our society on the environment and to enhance the stability of both our society and the environment, we must make immediate efforts to switch the vast majority of our energy infrastructure (at least civilian) to sources of energy that are not destructive to the environment. In the short term, this means relying more on natural sources of energy, such as: solar, wind, tidal, and geothermal. In the long term, this means developing nuclear fusion technology for a practically unlimited source of energy.
Abortion of a pregnancy is the right of the pregnancy-carrier––even after the time when the developing organism can reasonably be deemed a person––until the time of birth or delivery. As troubling as this position may be to those who are concerned for the welfare of the unborn baby as a person and want to protect it as a member of our society, we must say that this is not a position we take without difficulty because we also care for the welfare of other persons, including that of an unborn baby, but we find that there are sufficient justifications for holding this position.
Section 1.
Voting is not a simple nor self-evident process. In fact, there are various voting systems (plurality, approval, range/score, ranked-choice, Condorcet, etc.), and they can produce very different results. Some systems can even deteriorate the dynamics of democracy within the voting population by incentivizing the voters to vote strategically rather than authentically, which in turn enables certain interest groups to artificially divide the public and exploit that for their own advantage.
Section 1.
Reality is a fundamentally mysterious duality between the realm of [subjective] experience (aka consciousness) and the realm of physics (time, space, matter, and energy). It seems that we will never learn which is ‘most real’ because the realm of experience appears to be generated by the realm of physics while the realm of physics is dependent on and can be reduced to experience. The two are inextricably interdependent on one another, like “two sides of the same coin”.
Lottocratic Branch
-24 single-issue legislatures, each consisting of 300 randomly chosen citizens who serve one-year terms.
This would operate much like a jury (fairly paid), in which all decision-makers are exposed to thorough presentations of evidence and reasoning from all sides on legislation that arises through Egora. A congressional committee would arrange the legislature to hear from experts, community members, and other stakeholders when deliberating on a bill. During a term, jobs must be held for the lottocrats by employers who may hire temporary workers in the interim.
Section 1.
The market system is the only method for a society to relate the value of goods that make life possible, such as food, to goods that make life enjoyable, such as art, in a way that is fair to the preferences of everyone. Thus, the market system should be the basis of any economy.
Section 2.
The government should not play any role in influencing the behavior of market participants by favoring anyone through subsidies, price controls, barriers to entry, or taxes, except those that are necessary for strategic interests of national defense, establishing minimum standards of consumer safety, and accounting for externalities.
Section 1.
Very few people [1] who are prostitutes actually want to be prostitutes. Most people do not do it because they love this kind of work but because they are driven to it by financial deprivation or are coerced into it by kidnappers and sex-slave traffickers. The solution to this problem in not punishing prostitutes, nor punishing clients, nor punishing legitimate auxiliary enterprises (madams, pimps, bodyguards, etc.), but rather helping people get out of difficult situations so they do not have to make extremely unpleasant sacrifices.
The only exceptions to this rule should be only for medical reasons specific to each individual and on a completely voluntary basis.
Section 1.
While basic education is that which is minimally necessary for a person to be a moderately functioning citizen and worker in our complex society, we recognize that higher education yields even greater benefits, both to the person and to their society. First, it makes one a well-rounded and more understanding citizen, capable of imagining and designing a better future for all of us. Second, it makes one a much more productive worker, capable of delivering much more value to themself and to others.
Abortion of a pregnancy is the right of the pregnancy-carrier––even after the time when the developing organism can reasonably be deemed a person––until the time of birth or delivery. As troubling as this position may be to those who are concerned for the welfare of the unborn baby as a person and want to protect it as a member of our society, we must say that this is not a position we take without difficulty because we also care for the welfare of other persons, including that of an unborn baby, but we find that there are sufficient justifications for holding this position.
Section 1.
While a basic education is that which is minimally necessary for a person to be a moderately functioning citizen and worker in a complex society, we recognize that a higher education yields even greater benefits, both to the person and to their society. First, it makes one a well-rounded and more understanding citizen, capable of imagining and designing a better future for all. Second, it makes one a much more productive worker, capable of delivering more value to themself and to others.
Daylight Savings Time (DST) is an absurd molestation of our natural bodily rhythm and it disrespects our connection to the natural world. It is irrelevant what the arguments are in favor of DST because the concept is flawed at the core - noon is noon and no one should have the right to manipulate this for anyone else. Granted, the concept of timezones does skew noon for most locations, but it is an extremely important compromise for the interconnectedness of our world, and it is tolerably stable and typically unnoticeable.
I love this idea, I agree it's far better to allow down-syndrome to eat each other on "Scum island" rather than harm or handicap them further. Much, much better. ;-)
But.
Isn't humanity about compassion and, sometimes, coercion? Why do we bar young children from eating each other then?
We will always be bound to exert some coercion, one way or another.
Section 1.
Reality is a fundamentally mysterious duality between the realm of [subjective] experience (a.k.a. consciousness) and the realm of physics (time, space, matter, and energy). It seems that we will never learn which is ‘most real’ because the realm of experience appears to be generated by the realm of physics while the realm of physics is dependent on and can be reduced to the realm of experience. The two are inextricably interdependent on one another, like two sides of the same coin.
Please watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pO1eOWJtEY
Please see:
https://www.anonymousforthevoiceless.org/kill-counter
Politics should not be about insisting on a specific method above others. The focus should be on pursuing social well-being. The method should be whatever, at the moment, seems more likely to achieve social well-being.
Politics must be a way of achieving the goal, not an end in itself. Politics should not be a pursuit of power or selfish benefit. Politics should not be a way to solidify beliefs. Politics shouldn't need to be marketed. Politics isn't a commodity to be exchanged on the market.
Lois Digges
Feminist activists claim that, compared to men, women make 77 cents on the dollar. If data is controlled for occupation, industry, hours, experience, age, education, and marital status, a wage gap remains, but at only 5% less than men (as calculated by Glass Door) or as little as 2% (as calculated by Payscale). Is this a gap wide enough for national legislation to address?
O'Neill, “an economist who has probably studied wage gaps as much as anyone alive” (Hymowitz), examined data from 5,600 wage-earners and found that the wage gap disappears if only childless women are considered.
Section 1.
Reality is a fundamentally mysterious duality between the realm of [subjective] experience (aka consciousness) and the realm of physics (time, space, matter, and energy). It seems that we will never learn which is ‘most real’ because the realm of experience appears to be generated by the realm of physics while the realm of physics is dependent on and can be reduced to experience. The two are inextricably interdependent on one another, like “two sides of the same coin”.
Section 1.
The amount of money (hard cash, a.k.a. M-0) provided by a government to an economy shall be an amount that is fixed to the size of the population. Should the size of the population significantly increase or decrease, the amount of money will be adjusted through a popular referendum. In case of an increase of the money supply, the additional money will be distributed through equal disbursements to the population (citizens and permanent residents).
If one wants to idealize society, the focus is on the goals, not the methods. The relevant questions are in line with the following.
What characterizes an ideal society?
How would one tell an ideal society from another that isn't ideal?
There are infinite possible answers.
I propose the following ingredients (properties) for an ideal society:
- Perceived individual benefit of "social contract". Everyone perceives life as better as part of such a society than alone. No one
sees the cost of belonging as outweighing the benefits.
- Pareto efficiency.
Colonial America lacked compulsory government schooling laws, yet it possessed 2 factors that are seldom discovered in modern society: personal independence and personal isolation.
Back then, men were self-employed craftsmen, farmers, or small businessmen who lived in rural communities where every family had their own acreage of land. These people did not depend on the central government for resources, and they had plenty of time for quiet thought, reflection, and true community. The children who were raised in these times had the best education possible, that of experience.
1.) All men and women are created equal.
Therefore, everyone is equal, and any right given to -- or rule taken from -- the people, must apply to every person equally. That includes private citizens, individuals WITHIN corporations, politicians, generals, the elite, the police, judges, Black folks, White folks, et al.
Section 1.
Planet Earth belongs to all of its inhabitants equally. The only natural sense of land ownership beyond that is owning only the land that you are currently using, which is the land on which you are currently standing or sitting.
However, for the sake of increasing productivity and raising our collective quality of life, certain factions, such as hominids, can enter into limited and superficial agreements of land ownership, such as for farming or building dwellings.
Lois Digges Jurewicz
Ownership of guns and similarly dangerous arms should be illegal except in the following cases:
1) Membership in a well-regulated state militia (as ensured in the US Constitution).
2) Membership in a branch of the U.S. military.
3) Membership in legitimate and accountable law enforcement or security.
4) License to hunt (as ensured in some state constitutions or statutory laws).
5) Ownership of a firearm before this law has gone into effect.
In addition,
1) The federal government shall offer to buy back firearms.
Section 1.
Reality is a fundamentally mysterious duality between the realm of [subjective] experience (aka consciousness) and the realm of physics (time, space, matter, and energy). It seems that we will never learn which is “most real” because the realm of experience appears to be generated by the realm of physics while the realm of physics is dependent on and/or can be reduced to experience. The two are inextricably interdependent on one another, like “two sides of the same coin”.
Please watch
"Century of Enslavement - The History of The Federal Reserve"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5IyUFqUN88
And
"The Creature from Jekyll Island"
https://www.youtube.
Many traditional societies still practice gathering and hunting as a way to supplement their diets. It can be the case that government and corporate control of land can interfere with these practices. It also be the case that "food deserts" and corporate dominance of food production and distribution create food insecurity for many people-- rural and urban. It is the case that many public lands-- including parks, redevelopment zones, and acreage adjacent to right of ways-- could be utilized for community gardens, fruit and nut trees, and berries and other perennial edible plants.
George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and James Madison wrote the document that formed the model for the Constitution of the United States.
When judges hear cases or Congress debates legislative bills they seek advice from the original constitutional text, amendments, enacted laws, court cases, and so forth; this is basically common law.