What is the ideal government?

[Blue3]

What, to you, is the ideal form and structure of government?





To give you some ideas...


1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you?

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship?

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist?

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate?

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers?

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale?

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)?

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral?

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits?

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy?

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition?

12. Is there civilian control of the military?

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed?

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded?

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.?

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.?

17. What is the tax structure like?

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.)



Etc.

These questions are just to get you thinking.




(Or is there no ideal government... and the ideal actually is when government is deemed no longer necessary, and abolished?)

[Dr. Cynic]

To answer this by responding as best I can to each tier you provided:

* If your ideal form of government has a constitution, what absolutely must be included in it?
I don't think a written constitution is necessary as such, but it would be preferable to guarantee certain basic rights such as free expression, et.al.

* Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship?
I like direct democracy on paper, but I don't believe it could work on a national level, so I would mix it with representative democracy, like they do in California.

* Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist?
Social Democratic, to me seems the fairest. A mix of both socialism and capitalism.

* Is it federal or unitary or confederate?
Federal, preferably

* Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers?
I would like it to be parliamentary. The Prime Minister and Opposition Parties debate and pass laws or offer referendums

* Is there a unitary executive, or two consuls for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number?
The Prime Minister would be the primary executive, though he'd be checked by a Supreme Court if a law is determined unconstitutional

* How many lawmakers are they, one, or does each state/province/district get an equal number, or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population... or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory?
500 Members of Parliament from multi-member constituencies (depending on the size of the constituency) elected directly for the Lower House. For the Upper House 100 Members elected from single member constituencies

* If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral? Bicameral. An elected House and Senate. The Prime Minister may be a member of either house

* Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them?
Parliamentary elections every five years. Supreme Court elections every 10 years or every retirement vacancy

* Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy?
Complete separation of church and state and churches will not be exempt from taxes. Everyone is free to practice whatever religion or not that they want

* Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech?
Media is free as is speech

* Is there civilian control of the military?
Voluntary service. The governing party is responsible for whatever military operations go on.

* What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed?
All political parties are allowed

* If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded?
Parties may choose public funding or individual donations from individuals no greater than 1,000 dollars

* Is there a respected right to privacy, and a respected due process of law?
Everyone has a right to privacy, provided they are not injuring anyone else. Of course due process is respected.

* How much influence does government have in areas like social security, healthcare, education, infrastructure, environmental management, working conditions and wages, job creation, etc.
Health care is funded by the government as is Social Security. A national minimum wage adjusted for inflation. The governing parties may adjust the budgets to a certain degree but will not be permitted to eliminate any of those programs. Everyone must be guaranteed decent working conditions

* Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.)
No, I'll have none of that

So, those were just rough answers to your questions.

[greenforest32]

Too lazy to quote and reply to each question individually so I'll just respond generally

----

I don't think having no government is feasible so trying to imagine what my ideal one would look like, I would say:

I like flat power structures but I don't think having a pure direct democracy to the point that you have things like citizens directly drafting the annual government budget would work well. So considering that, I'd want a representative democracy with multiple political parties that has a unicameral legislature elected to four-year terms via a form of proportional representation but also have a fairly extensive initiative and referendum system to go along with that but limit it in terms of what can be voted on: no voting on civil rights or things like naturalization like in Switzerland and spending/tax-cutting initiatives should pay for themselves within the same initiative by increasing revenue or cutting spending elsewhere.

Prefer a parliamentary system minus the words 'Prime', 'Minister/Ministry', etc but having a presidential system with the above legislature could be kind of neat. I would also try to hedge against disproportionate influence or corruption in the campaign finance system by having publicly funded elections and maybe a ballot access system based on gathering a certain percentage of signatures of the electorate rather than just paying a fee though that would probably be negated by having say a 5% vote threshold before getting any seats in the legislature. I don't know what's the best population:representative ratio to determine the total number of seats. 1m+ per representative seems too high but 100,000 or less seems too low. Probably something in between those two.

No term limits and there is universal suffrage via automatic registration and perhaps the voting age at 16 instead of 18. Judges would be appointed via a commission rather than elected and the constitution would have the standard negative rights (free speech/movement/press, separation of church and state, due process, privacy etc) among other things. The military would be volunteer-based rather than being mandatory or draft-based and I imagine it wouldn't be very large.

For the influence on the economy, I'd go with a mix of capitalist/socialist where people have a basic standard of living guaranteed via positive rights funded through a variety of progressive taxation: where they don't have to 'compete or die' for things like food, education, healthcare, and basic housing. And for employment, there would be a basic income to increase people's bargaining power and the standard regulations to curtail abuses (emissions limits, interest rate caps on credit cards/loans, bans on debtor and private prisons, etc) along with direct government "competition" in terms of services like utilities and public banking.

^^ Related to that minimum standard of living would be that the government is unitary rather than federal, at least in terms of the aforementioned fundamental services. I don't think we need 50 separate Medicaids, Social Securities, etc so I'd have the unitary government over a layer of local/regional government with those programs delegated up so as not to dilute their efficiency or lose the focus when 'only a few' places don't meet the standard. Patents would also be heavily curtailed to how they are now, there wouldn't be people/businesses having monopolies to charge whatever they want for things like pharmaceutical drugs or "owning" something that shouldn't be owned but rather be in the public domain (plenty of examples like these absurd software patents you read about).

Ideally this thing would be a global government (imagine the size of the legislature!) but I know we're centuries from something like that.

[Redalgo]

The ideal form of government is subjective and will vary from one individual and nation to the next; varied social mores, moral values, and perceptions of reality can make different forms of government seem more attractive than others.

From my perspective the ideal model is of a constitutional republic featuring representative democracy, federalism, market socialism, irreligious governing institutions, an ideologically diverse and multi-party system, civilian control of the military, publically-funded elections, and no special emphasis on advancing the interests of a particular group of people in society over another - policy should be designed to serve the interests of all.

Following the liberal tradition there should be due process of law, equality before the law, a right to privacy, abolition of torture, abolition of cruel and unusual punishments (including the death penalty), abolition of slavery (including conscription), and rights to: free expression, religious practice, personal property ownership, movement, assembly, peaceful petition of government, association, vote in elections (provided one is an adult), etc.

There are a number of other social rights I would want to see constitutionally enshrined. These include but are not limited to those of: living in provinces with republican forms of government, representative democracy in politics and the workplace alike, a guaranteed minimum income, environmentally-healthful living conditions, equality of opportunity (not possible, technically, but implying social insurance, public schools, some anti-discrimination laws, and regulation of income distribution by firms), equitable state recognition of civil partnerships, etc.

Taxes would be extracted based on ability to pay, though the precise method used is not of great importance to me. Rates should preferably be progressive in nature, and take no more than 50% of any citizen's income. Capital gains should be taxed like regular income, firms not taxed at all, and tariffs are completely out of the question. The code should be designed to work in concert with income regulations to promote a rather low GINI co-efficient. Tax rates are harmonized across the provinces, and tax revenue allotted to each of them by the federal government (after it takes what it needs) in proportion to how much tax was drawn from them each relative to the others.

Federal government controls the armed forces, tends to matters of diplomacy and trade with other countries, and a handful of other responsibilities enumerated by the constitution. For the most part, however, it merely acts to ensure the many provinces pursue paths of public policy which are fully within the parameters of what is written in the one shared, overarching, national constitution. The provinces may forge their own paths in politics provided they do not stray from the foundational provisions of that document - which in turn there would be processes in place to amend or - alternatively - take to a convention for redrafting once every decade or two.

The legislative branch is bicameral, with the lower house populated by hundreds of trustees elected by the electorate in each province in proportion to their respective populations. The upper house is comprised of a somewhat smaller, fixed number of trustees who are elected by academics. The executive branch is presidential, and has all the trappings of a thorough set of checks and balances and separation of powers. It is a presidium of five co-presidents who specialize and to some extent lead in different areas of responsibility. In both branches the ballots used for electing officials are ranked-choice, independents can run, the party lists are open (whenever applicable), and proportional representation with a moderately-low threshold is used - not FPTP in a multitude of single-member districts.

The judicial branch has officials who are appointed while a fourth branch focusing on research and open sharing of knowledge (including the operation of a handful of public media outlets) is comprised of degree-holding scholars from accredited institutions of higher learning / tertiary education. Both of these branches are relatively technocratic in comparison to their legislative and executive counterparts. The fine details and mechanisms for their interactions cannot be succinctly described - a finalized constitution would be needed to completely explain their functions.

To address some of the other items brought up in the OP, the term limits are capped at one and there is universal suffrage for most elections - meaning all denizens of ages sixteen or over. Elections for the upper house of the legislature may instead be narrowed down to denizens who possess at least a graduate level degree or some equivalent granted to them by a university.

My ideal here is liable to shift from year to year as I gain experience and wisdom in how to better synthesize liberal and socialist thought. I am generally in favor of the state upholding an empowering array of rights and freedoms so individuals can seek out happy, satisfying lives to the best of their abilities without in the process being unduly harmed, hindered in their endeavors, or otherwise wronged by others. Though my ideal government would wield a moderate rather than minimized measures of capacity and autonomy, if my preference held sway it would have less authority over the individual's business affairs and way of life on the whole than is the case now.

[Beet]

This may be a surprise coming from me but the ideal government, is no government. Economic relations would naturally to lead to egalitarian results through decentralized production and finance, people would naturally not commit crime, and even what large organizations there were would not be subject to the law of oligarchy. There would be no concentration of wealth, power or coercion, no bigotry or discrimination, no borders, and society would operate in an organic voluntaristic manner.
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary." - James Madison

Will it ever be reality? No. But you asked for ideal.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I daresay that there is no ideal government; just varying degrees of unpalatable in the place of that illusory notion.

[TNF]

1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you?

An unwritten constitution is far better, in my opinion, than a written one. It allows for much more fluidity and is functionally more democratic than a written constitution, which can limit the influence that regular people have on the forces that govern them.

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship?

Representative democracy.

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist?

Tripartite (labor, business, and government), social democratic corporatist.

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate?

Unitary.

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers?

Parliamentary.

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale?

Unitary.

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)?

Representation is based upon population.

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral?

Unicameral.

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits?

The legislature is elected by party-list proportional representation. The Premier is then chosen by the party with the most seats, who also elect the members of the cabinet. Local judges are elected in nonpartisan elections. There is universal suffrage at age 16 and there are no term limits for legislators.

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy?

There is freedom of religion and separation of church and state. Churches are not exempt from taxation.

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition?

The backbone of the media (cable networks, telecommunications, Internet, etc.) is under public ownership, but content is not regulated by the state, for the most part. Freedom of speech is about what it is in the United States (hate speech is a protected form of speech), freedom of movement is guaranteed, freedom of assembly is also guaranteed, as is freedom of petition.

12. Is there civilian control of the military?

Yes.

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed?

Political parties are fully legal and proliferate under the PR system.

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded?

Yes.

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.?

Yes to all of the above.

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.?

There are universal, livable pensions, strong public housing programs and assistance for those who need it to buy a home, there is a more generous food stamp program than exists in the United States, national health insurance that covers all aspects of health (with the majority of hospitals owned by the state), education is free from cradle to grave (with a strong vocational education program) and based on the Finnish model, there is state of the art, smart infrastructure, natural resources are publicly owned, working conditions are strict and wages high with unions playing a crucial role in managing and running the economy, consumer protection strong, and the government required by law to produce a full employment economy, making up the difference in private sector employment with public spending.

17. What is the tax structure like?

Highly progressive, with a top income tax rate of about ~90%.

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.)

No.

[Blue3]

This may be a surprise coming from me but the ideal government, is no government. Economic relations would naturally to lead to egalitarian results through decentralized production and finance, people would naturally not commit crime, and even what large organizations there were would not be subject to the law of oligarchy. There would be no concentration of wealth, power or coercion, no bigotry or discrimination, no borders, and society would operate in an organic voluntaristic manner.
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary." - James Madison

Will it ever be reality? No. But you asked for ideal.

I agree with you. Hopefully, some day we can move toward a "post scarcity" society, and eventually no longer need a government. I believe we need a government for now, but the ideal is definitely to have none.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

No government. Everyone makes the right decisions and is civilized.

[barfbag]

What we have is the perfect government and it's allowed our nation to make it's own decisions leading to our rise as a superpower. We're modeled after the Romans largely and they had the perfect government lasting an arguable 1,229 years. Granted for their later centuries they were pretty much a dictatorship.

[H. Ross Peron]

1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you?

Yes and it should it should include a basic bill of rights (freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and press plus habeas corpas, protection from torture etc.) while giving the government relatively broad powers.

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship?

A republic ruled by representative democracy.

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist?

Capitalist (ordoliberal/social market model)

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate?

Federal with the nation divided into several regions which are sub-divided into metropolitan districts (basically a city+suburbs+greenbelt) and "regular" districts.

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers?

Parliamentary.

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale?

Unitary

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)?

Most lawmakers elected via single-member districts, the rest are partitioned out according to how many votes each party won on national lists to ensure the seats are distributed in accordance with the national vote.

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral?

Bicameral with a relatively weak upper chamber has a safeguard against the excesses of the lower houses without being able to function as a reactionary force.

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits?

Lawmakers are elected via universal suffrage (no term limits) who then form governments determining the executive. Judges are nominated by Chancellors or other executives with legislative confirmation.

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy?

The former obviously.

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition?

Of course

12. Is there civilian control of the military?

Of course

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed?

Any number are perfectly legal

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded?

Yes

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.?

Yes to all with the exception of the death penalty which is retained in certain cases (multiple murders, war crimes, terrorism, treason)

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.?

In general there is a strong welfare state with generous social security for the elderly, unemployed, poor, and disabled; government-assisted housing and food stamps; a strong public education system with a national curriculum, universal pre-k, and merit and income based college aid; heavy infrastructure spending; a mixed public-private model of health care desired to give every citizen some form of coverage; a minimum wage tied to inflation; and Keynesian spending in times of crisis.

17. What is the tax structure like?

Largely progressive with a national sales tax and carbon tax and very few loopholes and exceptions.

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.)

No

[Blue3]

Any new thoughts here?

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

depends on your definition of "ideäl"

[Blue3]

depends on your definition of "ideäl"

So use yours.

[President Johnson]

To answer a few of your questions:

(However, it also depends of the size of the state. A country with a million people and the size of,  let's say New Hampshire, doesn't need 500 or more lawmakers and states, only counties)

1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you?

- Presidential system with strong checks and balances. Each of the three branches of government are independent from each other and oversight each other.

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship?

- Representative democracy is the best form of government

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist?

- Social market economy. Capitalism with some elements of socialism (safety net, common-sense regulations and consumer protection)

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate?

- Federal. Some issues should be managed by local governments closer to the people

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers?

- See 1. Presidential system with strong checks and balances.

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale?

- A president as head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief. He's elected directly by a plurality. One term is five years, and the constitution only allows two consecutive terms. The Vice President is elected on a ticket with the president and becomes president in the event of death, impeachment or resignation of the president. Cabinet officers are appointed by the president and need confirmation of the upper house of the legislature.

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)?

- Senators and Representatives are elected directly. Senators for a state, Representatives for a constituency. The districts are drawn by a nonpartisan commission. Each Representative should represent about 500,000 to 600,000 people. Senators are elected for five years, half of them are up for election each two and a half years. Reps are elected for two and a half years.

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral?

- See above. Two chambers.

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits?

- See above. Federal judges appointed by the president with confirmation of the senate for twelve years (no liftime appointment). No reappointment possible. Term limits for lawmakers: Six consecutive terms in the House and three consecutive in the senate. The president can be elected for two consecutive terms, each five years. Each citizen over 18 years is able to vote and there is automatic voter registration. Primary elections take place with an open primary system.

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy?

- Freedom of religion is granted by constitution. Separation of church and states are required by the constitution.

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition?

- Freedom of the press is required by the constitution

12. Is there civilian control of the military?

- Civilian control of the military. The president is commander-in-chief but with limited power for military action (without a mandate by lawmakers). Only legislature can declare that a state of war exists. Legislature also has the power of the purse. There is no draft.

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed?

- All democratic political parties are allowed. Unconstitutional parties with the goal of eliminating basic rights and democracy can be outlawed by the courts.

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded?

- In part yes. Contributions are limited and must be transparent (required by law).

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.?

- Yes. Strong protections. The constitution prohibits capital punishment, slavery, torture and discrimination because of gender, race, age etc. It protects all basic rights. Equal rights for all. Marriage is between two adult individuals including same sex marriage. Child marriages are prohibited.  

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.?

- Social market economy. Strong safety net. However, benefits for unemployed can be cut and replaced by food stamps if they don't look for a job. Infrastructure is the government's and therefore the people's property. No private highways.

17. What is the tax structure like?

- Progressive tax that's designed to relief the middle-class. Top tax rate at 50% for the wealthy making more than $500,000 per year.

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.)

- There is equal rights for all

[mencken]

What, to you, is the ideal form and structure of government?

Unlike the armchair totalitarians that populate 90% of this forum, I believe government ought to be an inconvenience to be dealt with as little as possible, dealing only with the military, courts, and police, where there is such a economy of scale that non-monopolistic provision of said goods has scarcely been tried¹. However, I also realize that most people will disagree with me on this point and almost everyone is going to disagree with me at some point with regard to what ought to be the law of the land. Therefore, most legal authority ought to be exercised at the local or state level, leaving to the federal government only external defense and the maintenance of internal order² With this goal in mind, the form of government ought to be devised to ensure that it adheres to this model as closely as possible, without hijacking from aforementioned totalitarians who wish to meddle in everyone elses' lives. Let them stay put at HOAs and avoid positions of national power as much as possible.

¹Before the hypothetical anarcho-capitalist reader gets on my case, I should note that I believe in federalism as well, so they are more than welcome to convince the denizens of a small state that Anarchy in One State works, which would be far stronger evidence for their case than a handful of feudal societies on the outskirts of medieval Europe. Until then, I can direct my discussion to the great majority of readers who do not cling to utopian ideas.
²It would have negative externalities if a regime existed in which one could commit murder and avoid extradition simply by going to the next state over; likewise if each state had dozens of different and contradictory picayune requirements for conducting commerce.
 

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The original Constitution was a decent starting point and the least theoretical, so let us start with that and make a few changes to fit the goal. Perhaps increasing the size of the House of Representatives to fit the original 30,000 to one ratio would be beneficial, and repealing the Seventeenth Amendment for election of Senators. The Commerce clause, General Welfare clause and Necessary and Proper clause ought to be repealed for the rampant abuse they have endured to justify virtually every intrusive behavior of the federal government. Furthermore, Congress ought to require a narrow and specific purpose in order to convene, which should require at least a 3/4 supermajority in agreement³. I am not convinced that a federal court system is necessary; the states ought to be the final arbiter of constitutionality in their own jurisdiction. Perhaps for constitutional questions as described in Article III, a federal court could be assembled for the narrow and specific purpose of adjudicating the case, where the plaintiff and defense could use a similar voir dire process on state judges as local court systems currently use on jurors; this avoids the inherent conflict of interest present when officers of the federal government get to make lifetime appointments to the federal court system (which adjudicates matters in which the federal government is a party).

³The supermajority should be large enough that a few bad election cycles would not put one party in a position to implement their agenda with no chance of repeal, such questions ought to be left to the state level.

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Monarchy is too tough a sell in a country that has never known it, but democracy ought to be avoided at much as possible as well (even the ancient Greeks would have objected to the socialist universal suffrage regime we have today). Suffrage ought to be tied to your tax burden.

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Capitalist

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Confederate

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I think the Presidency as constituted is preferable to unchecked parliamentary systems, but perhaps replace the Electoral College with rotating the Presidency among the state chief executives, so as to keep the President from becoming too powerful.

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Districts ought to be based on some intrinsic jurisdictional boundary (e.g. county or city lines) rather than gerrymandering by an unaccountable legislature or commission. Any egregious population deviations could be relieved through multimember districts with proportional representation.

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Bicameral is adequate so long as it adheres to the original purpose - one branch to reflect the (citizen taxpaying-) population's interests, one branch to reflect the state's (or county/city/borough's on the state level) interests, with the latter appointed by the legislature of said subfederal (or substate) jurisdiction.

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Strict term limits for all officers, suffrage restricted to citizen taxpayers. Elections/appointments occur as previously described.

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Like the Constitution (for the most part), the Bill of Rights would be preserved, albeit without the dubious Incorporation Doctrine.

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See above.

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No, imaginary rights do not exist.

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I think the Thirteenth Amendment is pretty uncontroversial at this point.

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All things that ought to be left to individual choice. If states wish to pursue quasi-socialist experiments, they are of course free to do so.

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Abolish the Sixteenth Amendment; taxation ought to be limited to excise taxes, duties, and one-time real property taxation (all capped at 10%).

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No, and of course this also applies to favoring "underrepresented" groups over "overrepresented" groups, or whatever other euphemism you feel like using for your pet form of discrimination.

[mencken]

And of course I expect to be mocked with the usual totalitarian "hurr durr let the states decide" group unthink. Leftists in their infinite epistemic arrogance fail to acknowledge the possibility that they could even be wrong in their policy prescriptions, or that what works for one group of people may not work for others. One would think that an ideology that supposedly so reveres science would be less resistant to allowing experimentation in legislation and jurisprudence among dozens of jurisdictions with relatively easy mobility and similar demographics and economic conditions. Just as I favor open competition in the economic sphere (as opposed to a command economy), I favor devolution in the political sphere as much as possible (as opposed to totalitarian nationalism or global governance).

[MarkD]

A nation with federalism -- not all important government actions need to be done nationwide; many powers are reserved to the states -- three branches of government, two of which are elected, but the judiciary is not. The judiciary is kept insulated from political pressures, because that's the only way to ensure that it will do its job objectively. BUT, with that insulation being crucial for that reason, it is also crucial that the executive who appoints the members of the judiciary must be choosing people because of their dedication to being objective. The executive must realize that to choose people for the judiciary because of the appointee's political views/ideological stance is to thwart the very reason why the judiciary was kept insulated from political pressure.

You know, it's the first stuff in my signature line.

[politicallefty]

1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you? I support a written constitution with a basic framework of the structure of government and a Bill of Rights. Equal rights would be expanded and the Second and Tenth Amendments would be removed. However, I think the basic structure of government should be allowed to establish certain flexibilities that support its continuity.

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship? Representative democratic republic.

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist? Social democracy/democratic socialism.

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate? Federal, with strong federal supremacy.

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers? Parliamentary.

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale? The Prime Minister and Cabinet hold executive power so long as they retain confidence of the Senate and House of Representatives in joint session.

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)? The cube root rule would be in effect for the House of Representatives. 75% of the body would be elected through single-member districts, with the remaining 25% elected through a party list to ensure a proportional party result. The Senate would elect three senators per state per election, with each state being granted three per state.

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral? Bicameral.

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits? Parliamentary elections would be held every four years, unless the Senate and House of Representatives in joint session refuse confidence in the Prime Minster and Cabinet. All judicial nominations are subject to supermajority approval by the Senate and serve for no more than 20 years.

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy? Complete separation of church and state would be paramount.

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition? All of the above would be constitutional rights.

12. Is there civilian control of the military? Yes.

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed? All politics parties are allowed to run for office.

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded? Campaigns would be largely run by parties, which would receive matching funds per a set donation per person. Individuals would be prohibited to donate above a set amount and corporations would be barred from donating.

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.? A basic right to privacy and due process would be established. Torture, capital punishment, slavery, and involuntary servitude would be constitutionally prohibited. Discrimination protections in the workplace would be set by law.

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.? My government would have a strong social welfare state in place, similar to Scandinavian countries. Many current job benefits would be considered rights under law.

17. What is the tax structure like? Strongly progressive, but with incentives to encourage job growth.

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.) No. Society should be able to provide for all.

[Kingpoleon]

1. Yes. I can't outline it in a few words, but Madisonian constitutional views and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen are both good starting points.

2. Either a semi-presidential system, like in France, or a constitutional monarchy wherein the monarch has certain actual powers.

3. Semi-interventionist capitalism.

4. Preferred: Confederate but global; if just on a national scale, Madisonian federalism.

5. See answer two

6. Parliament is elected by Proportional Representation; Potential Chancellors must first gain the "potential governing" majority support in Parliament. The monarch appoints a Governor-General, who must be confirmed by at least two-fifths of Parliament and elected nationwide in a IRV vote, against the candidates of the Leader of the Opposition, as well as any non-governing party/coalition with at least five percent of all MPs supporting their candidate. The Governor-General is the de facto administrator, and if he, the monarch, and at least two-fifths of Parliament agree, they can override the Chancellor and, potentially, his majority.

7. There would be 175 total MPs in America, or 1001 in the world.

8. Unicameral

9. Lawmakers are elected by PR, with the party lists being IRV.

10. Separation of church and state.

11. Constitutional rights.

12. Yes.

13. All non-violent/not advocating for violence are allowed.

14. All campaigns receive a base fund, as well as an amount proportional to how well they are polling. No campaign may receive double or more than double any other campaign with >5% of the vote in polls or the last federal election.

15. A basic right to privacy and due process would be established. Torture(without warrant and without suspicions with supporting evidence that it would save lives), capital punishment, slavery, and involuntary servitude would be constitutionally prohibited. Discrimination protections in the workplace would be set by law.

16. Basic income of $20,000 a year(for all those at or below 250% of the federal or statewide poverty line), with states mandated to give enough until they are half way between the average statewide income per person/couple/family(whichever applies) and $20,000, with a cap of $50,000. All people on this who take jobs will not see a reduced amount of income. All other forms of welfare, with the exception of food stamps, are largely abolished on the federal level. On healthcare, a self-sustaining universal healthcare system like the Healthy Americans Act is put into effect. With the above exceptions as well as an exception for the environment, the current role in the economy is enough.

17. Progressive income tax, 2.5% federal sales tax for all those above 200% of the poverty line.

18. No.

[Dr. MB]

1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you? Yes, and a bill of rights.

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship? Mix between representative and direct democracy (there is a legislature but referendums can overturn decisions of the legislature).

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist? Broadly democratic socialist, but with strong libertarian elements

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate? If it's a large country, federal, if it's small then unitary

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers? Presidential

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale? One executive with a cabinet

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)? Elected from un-gerrymandered equal-population districts. 3 representatives elected from each district (no primaries, top 3 vote-getters win). No special representatives for groups.

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral? Unicameral

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits? Universal suffrage. Judges are elected for set terms. No term limits.

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy? Strong freedom of religion and separation of church and state, religion plays no role in government.

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition? Yes

12. Is there civilian control of the military? Yes

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed? Allowed but partisanship is very strongly discouraged

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded? Yes

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.? Yes

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.? The government is highly involved in the economy in order to ensure equal protection for all citizens.

17. What is the tax structure like? Progressive, the poorest pay no taxes, while the rich pay 75%

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.) Absolutely not.

[Antonio the Sixth]

1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you? Yes. Beginning with a chart of fundamental rights (including civic, personal and social rights).

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship? Representative democracy, with a system that actually ensures representativeness (ie PR in very small constituencies and MANY legislative seats).

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist? Socialist in the sense that private property is only tolerated to the extent that it doesn't infringe on people's rights to a decent living condition and to freely choose what to invest their energy on.

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate? Depends on the size and geographic diversity within the country. Since a world government would be ideal, I guess federal.

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers? Parliamentary.

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale? A Prime Minister and cabinet elected and censured by the Parliament.

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)? As I said, PR in very small constituencies, with a parliament of 1000 to 2000 people and compensation seats to ensure overall proportionality. Use party list with preference voting to elect individual members.

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral? Unicameral.

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits? Universal and mandatory suffrage for any citizen over 15 in possession of their mental faculties (enforced through a fine for nonvoters). No term limits for the parliament, but a maximum of 12 years for a chief executive. Judges are not elected and are promoted based on internal regulations and a merit system.

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy? Full separation of Church and State, with freedom of religion to the extent that it doesn't interfere with citizens' personal rights or compelling government interests.

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition? Every citizen is guaranteed an equal right to speech, which means that the government has a duty to prevent the richest or most powerful from dominating the public square. Certain forms of speech - such as the hateful and the obscene - are harmful and the government has a duty to regulate or even prohibit them.

12. Is there civilian control of the military? Of course.

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed? Anyone can form a political party. Parties are financed through a combination of public funding and membership fees, but private donations of any kind are forbidden.

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded? Yes. Every party that runs candidates (which requires collecting a number of citizen endorsements) is guaranteed equal funding for campaign expenses, and prohibited from exceeding that amount. In addition, all broadcasters must provide them with equal airtime.

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.? Yes to all.

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.? The government has a constitutional obligation to provide for all these.

17. What is the tax structure like? A steeply progressive income tax with a marginal rate of 95% for anyone making more than 10 times the median income, and 100% over 50 times. Calibrate it to raise 40-45% of the total income. Add in a wealth tax for the super-rich.

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.) Every person is equally valued, but those who distinguish themselves for their virtue must be honored and held up as examples for others to follow.

[Kingpoleon]

I never realized what a moralist Antonio V is...

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

1. Does your ideal form of government have a constitution? If it does, what absolutely must be included in it for you?

Political rights, rights to fair trials, and a basic standard of living.

2. Is it a representative democracy or a direct democracy, or benevolent monarchy, or an elected and constitutionally-limited liberal monarchy, or a military police state dictatorship?

Representative, possibly some limited direct democracy

3.  Is it fascist, corporatist, feudal, capitalist, mercantilist, socialist, or communist?

A blend of socialist and capitalist

4.  Is it federal or unitary or confederate?

Unitary

5. Is it parliamentary, or presidential with checks and balances and a separation of powers?

Checks and balances

6.  Is there a unitary executive, or two co-presidents for executives, or perhaps a triumvirate of executives, or some other number? Perhaps a cabinet elected on the national scale?

A shared head of state is an interesting idea.

7. How many lawmakers are there? One? Five? Or does each state/province/district get an equal number? Or does each state/province/district get a number based on their population?
Or perhaps lawmakers are chosen based on recognized demographics instead of a people in a particular territory (ex: a national representative for all blacks, a national representative for all whites, a national representative for all jews, a national representative for all atheists, a national representative for all women, a national representative for all those disabled, etc.)?

A combination of proportional national list and local districts with IRV.

8. If there is body of lawmakers, is it unicameral or bicameral or tricameral?

Unicameral

9. Are lawmakers and executives and judges appointed or elected, how are they appointed/elected, who appoints/elects them? If people vote them in, what are the qualifications to be a voter, or is there universal suffrage? Are there term limits?

Universal suffrage. Not sure about term limits.

10. Is there freedom of religion and separation of church and state, or is it some form of theocracy?

Freedom of religion and separation of church and state.

11. Is there freedom for an independent media, and for freedom of speech/movement/assembly/petition?

Free speech. Free media, but some regulations to try to give somewhat fair coverage.

12. Is there civilian control of the military?

Yes

13. What is the legal status of political parties, are more than one allowed?

Multiparty system

14. If there are democratic elections, are they publically-funded?

Yes, and no other funding.

15. Is there a respected right to Privacy, and a respected Due Process of law? Protection from torture? Protection from the Death penalty? Protection from Slavery and other involuntary servitude? Protection from Discrimination in the workplace, housing, marriage, adoption, medical treatment, etc.?

Yes

16. How much influence does government have in areas like social security, housing/shelter, food, healthcare, education, childcare, infrastructure, resource/environmental management, working conditions and wages, consumer protection, job creation, etc.?

A lot

17. What is the tax structure like?

Progressive taxation

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.)

No

[°Leprechaun]

18. Is one component of society valued over another? (examples: Educated over Uneducated, Rich over Poor, Property-owners over non-property-owners, Majority over Minorities, one Gender over the other, Straight over Gay, Old over Young, Able over Disabled, one Race/Ethnicity/Territory over the others, or certain Families/Bloodlines over the others, etc.)

Excellent thread, but rather than simply answering each question with a simple yes or no, it would be better to take them one at a time.

If one wants an ideal egalitarian society education is the key to achieve this. I spoke with a young lady yesterday from Costa Rica. I didn't know she was Hispanic because she didn't have a Spanish accent and her English was flawless.
I told her I have trouble learning Spanish because I don't have anyone with whom to speak it.


Knowledge of how the government works is part of a good education.
Knowledge of math, science and history which all started with the big bang is very important.
Knowledge of conflict resolution and how idiotic it is to be constantly engaged in acrimonious (so called) debate is also important. Know the rules of logic. Know how to spell difficult words. Knowing how to speak and write English well is critical if you want to be respected.

So, it's not about favoring the educated over the uneducated, but about educating everyone.