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9. Principle of Political Equality (PPE) The American Declaration of Independence declares : “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” And women ? Are they ‘created equal’ with men? Are ANY two creatures created equal? As no two creatures are ‘created equal’ the declaration contradicts biological facts. What ‘equality’ did its authors have in mind ? did they mean Biologicaly equal? Legaly equal? Economic equality? Political equality? These are all different matters. It seems they meant legal equality - namely, that all laws apply equally to all people, whatever their origin, race, sex, creed, wealth or power, so no one is above the law. The dismissing of President Nixon in 1974 for his part in the Watergate scandal demonstrated this equality, it showed that even a President of the United States is not above the law. So much for applying the law equally, but what about equal authroity to make laws? Are all citizens authorized to propose, debate and vote on every law? Certainly not! Very few citizens are authorized to vote on laws or policies. Those who do so are not the legal experts but the politicians. Applying all laws equally to all citizens is important, but equal authority to vote on laws is more important. Authority to vote laws and policies is authority to make the rules which all citizens must obey. Every citizen must have the right to decide what laws society should accept. After all, the purpose of law is to improve the life of all citizens. Shouldn’t those whose life is to be improved decide themselves how to do it? Apparently not, as in no society today are all citizens authorized to propose, debate and vote for the laws and policies of their society. The Principle of Political Equality (PPE) asserts that even though no two citizens are biologically equal all have equal authority to vote on every law and policy of their society. Only those who have this equality live by their own decisions - and are free. When all citizens have equal authority to make laws, they can legislate other equalities. They can decide all laws of society, including other equalities. PPE must be applied to any group, couple, family, tribe, nation, army, place of work, school, and to society itself. PPE asserts the right of every member of a group to propose, debate and vote on every decision of the group. Some will accept PPE as self-evident. Others will prefer to die rather than accept it. They will oppose its application to society - but even more so to family, school, and work. PPE abolishes power and domination in every domain of society, in families, schools, places of work, trade unions, and political parties. It equalizes ‘leaders’ and ‘led’, dominators and dominated. No political party leader, Right or Left, will accept that all members of his or her party have equal authority to propose, debate and vote on every policy of their party. Many ‘democrats’ denounce PPE for taking Democracy too far, and label it ‘Populism’. They distort the meaning of original Democracy and write it off as ‘dated’ or ‘unrealistic’. It is a safe bet that hysterical campaigns against PPE will erupt whenever demands for PPE will appear. The scope and intensity of hostility to PPE will exceed the hostility to Socialism, Anarchism or Feminism. Socialists will resist PPE no less than Capitalists, arguing that what really matters is the Principle of Economic Equality, not of Political Equality (PPE). Socialists ignore the fact that in all the states based on economic equality (the USSR and the former ‘Eastern Bloc’) only a handful of officials decided everything for everybody, and 99.99% of all citizens had no authority to decide anything, not even who should decide for them. No wonder such systems collapsed without bloodshed. Very few of their citizens supported them. Such systems were supposed to overcome oppression and exploitation caused by economic inequality but being based on political inequality they produced greater oppression and exploitation by denying their citizens political freedom. Most people who grew up in former socialist states prefer economic inequality of capitalism to political inequality of socialism. No wonder. The collapse of the USSR was the historical proof that economic equality is inferior to political equality - and cannot create it. Only political equality can create any other equality and is therefore far more important than any other equality. Opponents of political equality argue that most citizens lack the knowledge to understand the laws they vote for, either their benefits or their drawbacks. But this applies to most politicians who vote on laws nowadays. Most of them are not legal experts, yet they debate and vote on new laws and policies. They listen to experts who explain the consequences of proposed policies, then they do what every juror does in court by choosing the option that suits their own priorities. Every citizen can do the same. Citizens can listen on radio or TV to panels of experts explaining a new law or policy, and then vote on it. If a law or policy has unforeseen negative results, the citizens can always repeal them. Members of all panels must be drawn by lottery and changed regularly. |
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