7.0.4 Area Government Obligations - Overview

Version 1.3 December 2016                                         (Previous Version)

Good governance – how we make and check decisions – is required of all organizations.

It is especially required of “area government� – villages, towns, cities, counties, provinces, states and federations of states in a hierarchy – with effective control over a particular geographical area.

History shows that when multiple parties compete for control of an area, in a civil war or a failed state, prosperity tumbles and human rights abuses increase dramatically.  To promote our core values we accept that overriding coercive powers properly reside with area governments over all people and legal entities, and all commercial and social transactions within their area of control.

History also shows that unbridled power, absolute power, corrupts.  To promote our core values we accept that the coercive powers of the state must be constitutionally constrained, as they are in democracies, e.g. by the separation of powers, the rule of law, a bill of rights and elected rulers.  Critical constraints on centralized power includes separate bodies to provide specialist functions or oversight, such as central (reserve) banks, ombudsmen, and commissions to control stock markets or medicines.  Consistent with this position, as citizens, in democratic countries at least, we restrict ourselves to non-violent forms of opposition to national or global policies that we disagree with.

The primary roles of area governments are linked to their coercive powers over an area: enforcing peace and good order, environment protection, effective markets, financial stability, contract compliance; as well as managing natural monopolies (road, rail, water and communications networks), promoting prosperity within their borders, and defending against external aggression.

The European Treaty of Westphalia, in October 1648, declared that sovereign states have the right to rule (and practice religion) within their borders as they see fit, but not to interfere in the internal workings of other states.  This is now the accepted norm in international relations between states.

Nations make treaties with each other for their mutual benefit, especially in trade and defense.  Some treaties commit nations to submit to resolving disputes in international tribunals, or allow international courts to prosecute individuals for serious crimes (though the USA excludes itself from such treaties).

The United Nations is an association of sovereign states, whose “area� covers the whole world.  Many UN agencies promote wellbeing, such as WHO and UNICEF.  Others regulate trade or provide financial assistance, such as the WTO, World Bank and IMF.  In the past some UN policies have been bad, but we hope that evidence based policy making will correct such errors.

There are limits to the benefits we can gain from area governments.  Selfish nations looking after their own interests prevent global agreements to address global issues such as poverty, the environment, oppression, nuclear weapons and epidemics.  We need non-government organizations to counter the parochial bias of national, area based, governments.

We work through the next level of detail on each of the above issues (more).  After considering this evidence, we’ve looked for a way to state our conclusions briefly, and we come to the following summary.

Is this the best way to state our conclusions in this area?  Click on feedback, or add a comment below, if you can improve the substance or the phrasing.

  more                                                                             Statement 38

Our core values are promoted by effective, constitutionally constrained, area governments.