I've spent a lot of idle time in the last few years thinking about the purpose of government, citizenship and nationhood. Spurred on by the rise of "Crypto DAOs" and questions of what "digital citenship" could or couldn't mean, and how decentralization could augment or conflict with centralized authority.
Our family is in the middle of a month long trip through the American west, and a plaque in the OK capitol building in Oklahoma City caught my eye. It read:
Government in Oklahoma is based on constantly changing agreements among citizens to pool resources for the common good, consent to rules of behavior, and reserve rights and liberties. Agreements to be governed have evolved in Oklahoma for more than 200 years through a series of defining documents.
Two thing I love about that.
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The concise list of "purpose items". I find that distilling the purpose of government or citizenship to a few simple items to be a fun but difficult task, and this approach is both succint and interesting:
- pool resources (for common good)
- consent to rules of behaviour
- reserve rights and liberties
Not sure it's a perfect list, but if you were creating an imaginary society or set of laws you could do worse a guiding framework.
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The phrase "Agreements to be Governed". I love the opt-in nature of that, which reflects well American's founding "by the people - for the people" ideal. Phrasing it as an "agreement to be goverened" makes it clear that it is the one being governed who agrees and joins in participating, and reminds us that control should not be forced upon them. There are many scenarios in our real-world government where that may not feel true, and framing the "contract of government" this way helps us notice those.
Thanks for the insight Oklahoma. You're OK by me.