“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!

Egora: Version Σ
(archived: January 7, 2019)

Idea Dominance Index
 

This in not a broad search function but a filter for specific terms or phrases. For example, you can enter "freedom of speech" to display an index of ideas that contain this particular text.

Additionally, when writing an idea pertaining to a specific topic, include all of the typical phrases associated with that topic to ensure that those who are filtering for it will find it.

#1
Universal
IDI Points:
23
Supporters:
1
Nature of reality; Our capacity for understanding reality; Mechanics of reality; Ethics; Rights; Trust in politics

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.
#2
Universal
IDI Points:
16
Supporters:
1
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.

The government shall provide evidence in research studies and statistics on the risks associated with keeping a firearm in the home to be disseminated at pediatrician offices, libraries, human service offices, and other public areas as appropriate, with the offer to buy back firearms.
#3
Universal
IDI Points:
20
Supporters:
1
We have too few people working on too many and too big problems . So in order to solve them were need more hands on deck. For that purpose we need to redirect human resource from somewhere else, for example from the entertainment industry. Hopefully there are enough capable people there to help with solving these problems.
#4
Universal
IDI Points:
15
Supporters:
1
I have just joined the USA Constitutional Convention Community to help write a new US Constitution.  Why stop there?  Why not write a WORLD Constitution?
#5
Universal
IDI Points:
35
Supporters:
3
We have an extreme problem with gun violence. And extreme problems call for extreme measures.

First, we need to vote out all politicians standing in the way of gun control measures. Their argument that gun violence is a mental health issue, not a gun issue, is not valid. There are people with mental health issues in other countries too, but only in the USA gun violence is a big issue. The reason is that guns are so widely available, as opposed to other countries.

Therefore, we should outlaw the sale, AND RESALE, of all firearms and ammunition for the general public.
#6
Universal
IDI Points:
1
Supporters:
3
Illusion is everywhere. The world is a smokescreen, mysticism and materialism have long since found their respective limits. The solution is to patch our illusions, to put them into perspective, rather than fight them. The illusion is an artifice invented by mother nature to help us overcome otherwise insurmountable trials. Pregnant women, and young mothers who gave birth to our ancestors in uncertain and terrible times knew something about it. The mystical-religious illusion enabled them to overcome the horror. Without it, without them, humanity would have disappeared. Likewise, the materialistic and scientistic illusion has given us the tools (computers.
#7
Universal
IDI Points:
18
Supporters:
1
Economics: Capitalism as we know it was born out of the Renaissance system of Patronage. It required a critical mass of respectable middle-class people to be willing to trust paper 'promissary notes' rather than cold hard precious metal coinage. The resultant increase in wealth for the middle classes brought with it a huge increase in living standards for the well off (but not aristocratic), and the exploited peasantry bought into it on the promise of upward mobility, enabled by hard work and education. Since the 1970s however, the upward mobility has proven to be illusory.
#8
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
4
Right to online freedom of expression; Right to opt-out of online advertising; Right to online privacy; Establishment of Children’s Online Safety Commission

Section 1.
Any platform that provides a space for users to express themselves should be forbidden from censoring any user’s contributions in any way, except in cases where the user-created content is in violation of the laws of the country in which the organization/business is headquartered.
#9
Universal
IDI Points:
7
Supporters:
1
There should be a limit of how much the net worth of an individual can be ( I don't mean income but total value of all of the person's assets). The reason we need this is to avoid having someone use his money to make others do his bidding and then make them do something that is wrong.
#10
Universal
IDI Points:
15
Supporters:
2
Right to online freedom of expression; Right to opt-out of online advertising; Right to online privacy; Establishment of Children’s Online Safety Commission

Section 1.
Any platform that provides a space for users to express themselves should be forbidden from censoring any user’s contributions in any way, except in cases where the user-created content is in violation of the laws of the country in which the organization/business is headquartered.
#11
Universal
IDI Points:
14
Supporters:
1
Government should be more involved in the family unit and how people raise their children, including in regulating internet content we expose our children to.
Reason 1 - parents are not experts- they improvise they make mistakes. Currently focus is on government teaching people how to physically help them survive and be physically healthy and not on mental health. Therefore, i propose, weekly psychological visits paid by the government. On a side note, that is a good idea for grown ups as well so this service should continue throughout the whole person's life.
#12
Universal
IDI Points:
21
Supporters:
1
Government should be more involved in the family unit and how people raise their children, including in regulating internet content we expose our children to.
Reason 1 - parents are not experts- they improvise they make mistakes. Currently focus is on government teaching people how to physically help them survive and be physically healthy and not on mental health. Therefore, i propose, weekly psychological visits paid by the government. On a side note, that is a good idea for grown ups as well so this service should continue throughout the whole person's life.
#13
Universal
IDI Points:
29
Supporters:
2
Planet Earth and Land Ownership; Freedom of Migration and Practical Restrictions; Local Autonomy; Territorial Reallocation; Decolonization of the World; The Wild

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.
#14
Universal
IDI Points:
23
Supporters:
2
"I think we have to treat criminals more as victims of their circumstances. It doesn't make sense to harm or handicap them further. They need a well-guarded, natural location, an island where they either learn to establish order and farm or they eat one another."

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.
#15
Universal
IDI Points:
4
Supporters:
3
Interstate and intercity railroads should be publicly owned and operated

It is a well established point that building, maintenance, administration, and ownership of roads is best done primarily by the top governing authority, whether that be the local government, the state government, or the federal government, depending on the situation. Railroads present a nearly identical situation, and therefore railroads should be built, maintained, administered, and owned in a similar manner.
     
There are several great benefits to the arrangement of railroads being publicly owned and operated:
1)      The enforcement of safety standards would be much easier if the vast majority of train traffic would move over public railroads.
#16
Universal
IDI Points:
5
Supporters:
2
Minimization of intellectual monopoly (a.k.a. intellectual property)

The purpose of this text is two-fold. First we will establish that what is commonly known as “intellectual property” is more appropriately referred to as “intellectual monopoly”. Second, we will demonstrate that over-reliance on intellectual monopoly is actually one of the greatest problems facing our society, and, along the way, we will navigate this problem toward an optimal solution.
#17
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
1
On animal rights

Humans think of rights, write laws, and apply them. Balancing everyone's rights in society is a way to their health.

There is no society without animals. Thinking of animal rights doesn't reduce "rational" animal rights. Protecting animals protects "rational" animals. It sustains the "rational" nature.

It is irrational seeing no limits to the harm caused to other animals. No benefit justifies arbitrary actions against animals. But such actions may cause damage to the "rational" itself.

Not all "rational" humans share the same qualities, so we need to talk about rights and write laws.
#18
Portugal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
Trabalho e Rendimentos

Tipos de trabalho, rendimentos, impostos
- Estatal : voluntário - direito de uso, não transferível, não acumulativo
- Comum : cooperativo - participação no produto, demurrage na moeda local, temporariamente acumulativo
- Privado : competitivo - salário mínimo e máximo, IRS no euro, acumulativo

Jornada máxima de 20 horas semanais em cada tipo de trabalho
Todo cidadão tem direito a um Rendimento Básico Incondicional garantido pelo Estado e composto, em partes iguais, das 3 moedas
#19
Portugal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
Governança

As unidades territoriais podem ser habitadas ou inabitadas por pessoas.
As unidades habitadas são organizadas em níveis nacional, regional e municipal.
As unidades, em todos os níveis, são governadas por representantes escolhidos por mérito (eleitos) e por amostragem (sorteados).
Os representantes escolhidos por eleição compõem a Câmara dos Partidos (em ciclos de 36 a 60 meses) e os representantes escolhidos por sorteio compõem a Câmara dos Cidadãos (em ciclos de 3 a 6 meses).
#20
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
I submit that the power to start, and conduct, any war or military operation solely rest on the shoulders of Congress. Presidents have contravened the first article of the Constitution which grants solely to Congress the power to “declare war and raise and support the armed forces.” I’m done waiting for scholars and commentators to argue the founding fathers’ original intention here; meanwhile Presidents allow themselves to secretly conduct wars under the world’s, and our noses, speaking treacheries like, “Congress can DECLARE whatever they want. We’re the ones in command.
#21
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
3
On Inquire to Oneself Political Views
(Questions of a sleepy man)

Challenging the status quo is the way to improve. Challenge yourself.

Ask yourself the following, asking "why?" at each step until it is clear:

What does my life mean to me?
Can I see a more fundamental meaning? If yes, repeat the previous one.
#22
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
1
On State, Economics, People, and Myths  

The State only has legitimacy and effectiveness when the people consent to it. The best-known practice for that sake is democracy.

Everything is subject to the consent of the governed. The economy can't escape that.

The State should not impose upon the governed people any specific economic model. Instead, it should educate on the pros and cons of each model and practice and let people decide. The State should intervene in the economy only if people want it to.

The State can act as an economic agent - a supplier or consumer.
#23
Universal
IDI Points:
2
Supporters:
1
On Maximizing Preferences Respect

Each individual has preferences. Many incompatible preferences emerge in a big enough group of people.

A Country State or Federation can allow all citizens to live in a society based on their preferences:

1. Country States convert into a Federation. A Federation dissolves all pre-existing States to give rise to new ones.
2. Each group can ask the Federation for a new State if it wants to try a new society model.
3. Federation decides how big the group of people needs to be to entitle it to a new State.
4.
#24
Universal
IDI Points:
21
Supporters:
2
On Ideal Society

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.
#25
Universal
IDI Points:
8
Supporters:
1
On Property Right

I. It all started with protecting the Right to stay on land occupied by the use of violence or for no reason. The "Natural rights" discussion does not help much here. The only justification for such Rights is society's stability.

II. Tangible property is finite. All "added value" factors are not infinite. Raw materials, a person's time and effort, and the existing population are finite. Only non-tangible or intellectual creations aren't limited.  

III. A tangible property one owns someone else can not hold.

IV.
#26
Universal
IDI Points:
22
Supporters:
2
On political principles and the politicians that I am missing:

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.
#27
Universal
IDI Points:
11
Supporters:
1
United People

International affairs allegedly concern citizens of various countries because they are all represented. It isn't always the case that those present at international meetings represent the citizens they say they represent. There are many examples of it throughout world history.

The United People meetings are held anywhere people can safely go and on the Internet.

At the United People, citizens worldwide discuss international universal citizenry affairs. They discuss concerns, find agreements, commit to them, and act accordingly. They control their governments together the best they can.
#28
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
The law of Informed Consent

A serious concern people have about government is the overbearing laws that are considered obtrusive and unnecessary. I believe laws should stand up to a simple standard, Informed Consent. For example, if I ask you for money to help pay for lunch and you consent, this is a gift and not subject to any laws. If I ask you for money for lunch but I’m really going to buy a video game, you consent but are not informed. This is fraud and is subject to legal action.
#29
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
Frontidacracy: Deliberative Democracy in the Information Age

I have always believed the biggest problem with politics is politicians. Representative Democracies are neither representative, nor democracies. Recent elections have become more like game shows and “Reality TV” than the serious business of choosing our future that it should be.

My proposal is taking a system of governance currently used in internet technology and expanding it be used in any policy based system. From the Greek word Frontida, meaning to care or pay attention, a Frontidacracy is a system of government that is run by those who have interest in the policies under discussion.
#30
Universal
IDI Points:
5
Supporters:
1
Use technology to provide a simple path for everyone to participate in the crafting of the legal code. As {Timothy Wallis 1} proposes.

All countries can apply such practices.

Information technology makes it practical to have all citizens vote on laws and ordinances and start initiatives or vote on them.
#31
Universal
IDI Points:
16
Supporters:
1
Independente political comment commissions:

Congress and government discussions are often demagogical, fallacious, and not evidence-based.

We can combat the issue with independent commissions for political comment. There could be a journalistic commission commenting on the veracity of supposed facts. There could be a scientific commission commenting on scientific evidence. There could be a philosophical commission commenting on rationality and ethics matters.

Then politicians would need intellectual honesty, rationality, and truth when discussing.

Those comment commissions could be either public with administrative independence or private.

In any case, these discussion changes push for better choices and a more informed society.
#32
Universal
IDI Points:
17
Supporters:
2
Ideas for a constitution of a more democratic country:

As a next step towards giving people more voice while balancing possible lack of participation and the need for celerity, keeping the standard model of separated powers as checks and balances, we sketch this Constitution. Besides legislative, executive, and judicial powers, we add people's direct power.

I. (Rights, liberties, and guarantees)
Here we include rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and others deemed relevant.

II. (People)
1. Everyone can vote in any matter of interest through electronic voting.
2.
#33
Universal
IDI Points:
29
Supporters:
2
A New Form of Government with Four Branches: Lottocratic, Royal, Judicial, and Commissional.

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.
#34
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
Definition of Justice; Criminal justice system reform

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.
#35
United States of America
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
Use technology to provide a simple path for everyone to participate in the crafting of the legal code.
#36
Universal
IDI Points:
22
Supporters:
1
Nature of reality; Our capacity for understanding reality; Mechanics of reality; Ethics; Rights; Trust in politics

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”.
#37
Universal
IDI Points:
44
Supporters:
6
All military service should be on a completely voluntary basis

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.
#38
Universal
IDI Points:
4
Supporters:
1
There should be a limit of how much the net worth of an individual can be ( I don't mean income but total value of all of the person's assets).
#39
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
      Win-Win, Top Dead Center, Infinitely Transformative, Perfect Marriage of Freedom with an Eye for Justice and Justice with an Eye for Freedom Ranked Ballot, voters ranking candidates in order of preference to find the most perfect compromise, must inescapably result in Sharing The Work, the workweek attached to the unemployment rate. Easiest to explain "Additive" RB is counting the first choices, and then, if noone has 50%, adding in the next, and so on, till someone, most exactly in the middle, finally does.
#40
Universal
IDI Points:
29
Supporters:
2
Nature of reality; Human capacity for understanding reality; Mechanics of reality; Ethics; Rights; Trust in politics

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”.
#41
Universal
IDI Points:
23
Supporters:
4
Funding of higher education; Administration of higher education

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.
#42
United States of America
IDI Points:
10
Supporters:
1
Offering a deal to criminals in the US. IF they stop committing crime for a year, they get an equal piece of all the money we spend on the police for that year.
Let's say the number of criminals is the same number as the number of all inmates in the US, approx. 1.28 million (they have accumulated over the years so the criminals roaming free might be even less than that). The police budget is 250 billion, divided by 1.28 mil is about $195,000 per criminal. Pretty good amount.
#43
Universal
IDI Points:
24
Supporters:
4
Genital mutilation––especially male and female circumcision for cultural, traditional, religious, or ritual reasons––of persons under the age of 18––i.e. children and adolescents––should be illegal.

The only exceptions to this rule should be only for medical reasons specific to each individual and on a completely voluntary basis.
#44
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
Each Egora profile should automatically search for political agents in that persons area of residence. This will help streamline the process of engagement with the existing bureaucratic system and improve participation from the citizens in their own governance systems in each country.
#45
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
One dollar democracy

In my understanding the donations could come from voters in equal amounts, for example , 1 dollar per month from person, by bank transfer. In US it can be a colossal sum. President can be automatically removed if he receives less money then another candidate. So you can get automatic rotation.

To represent at least 50% of population it is possible to organize some council of several executives who will be automatically replaced from some pool of candidates depending on the stream of money from citizens.
#46
Universal
IDI Points:
0
Supporters:
0
[UNIVERSALLY CLEAR COMMUNICATION] Egora may wish to have a structure to define words in a scientific and logical sense instead of the abstract and semi-random sense of a dictionary. We should have a scientific way for defining words in an incredibly strong and fast, efficacious way. A semantic table and ontological order of categories of thought separated by essential differences. It is a table of essences. We can communicate with the essence of things with no unintended baggage to cause misunderstanding.

For example, to define a word we usually have to rely on other words.
Egora - Copyleft 2018