What *IS* a "Political Statement"? Why is One Needed? Who would Use It?http://tinyurl.com/Political-Statementhttp://dennisleewilson.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=611.msg1224#msg1224
What *IS* a "Political Statement"?
Why is One Needed?
Who would Use It?
What IS a Political Statement?
In philosophy, the study of politics is the study of interpersonal relationships, i.e. the study of how people interact with each other. A particular political system will be a result of—a reflection of—a particular code of ethics or morality; usually some form of authoritarianism and usually held implicitly.
A Political Statement takes the form of written rules—reflecting a particular morality—by which a group of people agree or are expected to conduct their relations with each other. Those who do NOT “agree” are usually ignored, ostracized or persecuted. In the Covenant of Unanimous Consent they are simply warned what to expect if they violate the Precepts of the Covenant.
For comparison, some other notable political statements include:
Exodus 24:12,13: Moses' Ten Commandments
(The last five commandments relate to interpersonal relationships.)
1100: The Charter of Liberties
1215: The Magna Carta
1320: The Declaration of Arbroath
1777: The USA Articles of Confederation
1787: The USA Constitution
1776-1956: Constitutions of each of the 50 States
1861: The Confederate States Constitution
1986: The Covenant of Unanimous Consent
Why is a Political Statement Needed?
Galt’s Oath and the libertarian Non-Aggression Principle are moral/ethical principles.
The basic or minimum requirement for peaceful interpersonal relationships is understanding and adhering to the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP), a very simple MORAL/ethical concept that is even readily understood by most children.
But sometimes moral statements are not sufficiently explicit or not easily applied to particular situations. Because of varying education levels (there will ALWAYS BE children coming into adulthood), understanding the full consequences of moral statements and/or applying them consistently can become problematic. In larger groups of people, applying moral statements consistently becomes increasingly problematic--especially when modern-day sophists specialize in deliberately distorting and delight in twisting the meaning[1] of even something as simple and rational as the Non-Aggression Principle.
Minimum requirements for living peacefully amongst other people do NOT require a person to be "fully rational" nor to understand what moral/ethical principles ARE, nor even to understand what principles are! Education levels vary enormously as do levels of rationality!
A characteristic of political statements—and a reason why they exist—is that they are more explicit than moral statements and consequently, are less subject to "interpretations".
Rules of Conduct, such as a Political Statement or the last five of Moses' Commandments, are MORE SPECIFIC AND CONCISE and considerably LESS ABSTRACT than moral principles, and are therefore less subject to misinterpretation and less liable to deliberate manipulation.
The Covenant of Unanimous Consent is a Political Statement of interpersonal relationships based on and explicitly derived from the moral principle in the Non-Aggression Principle.
As can be seen in the following essays, articles and discussions, The Covenant of Unanimous Consent reflects a very explicit, sovereign individual oriented morality.
Who would Use It?
The Covenant of Unanimous Consent
is
A Political Statement fulfilling the promise
of
Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence,
for Use by
Agorist, Anarcho-capitalist, Anarchist and Survivalist Communities;
Objectivist "Galt" Gulches and similar Societies; Redoubts;
Family/Community Farms; Free State Groups; Private Apartment Buildings;
Home Associations and Restricted or Gated Communities;
Temporary and Permanent Autonomous Zones; Supersedure Zones;
Sea Steads; Independent Territories;
Marriages; Friendships;
and Voluntary Groups of any size--two people or more.
[1] Even something as simple and concise as the NAP can be a target for distortion. See
In Defense of Non-Aggression by David Gordon at
http://mises.org/daily/6414/In-Defense-of-NonAggression for details.
2013-02-05 Revised the "What is" and added "Why needed" - dlw
2013-02-14 Added "Who uses" - dlw
2013-04-25 Added link to Mises.org article defending NAP - dlw
