Premises for Governance

While the paraliberal view emphasizes the concept of value-based autonomy for individuals, it also proposes to apply the same concept for nation-states. They shall also be considered to have an ability for independent action based on democratic decisions, as well as knowledge and reason, and for being guided by responsible values and attitudes that are held in common with other nation-states. The following premises are an attempt to formulate this general idea in more precise terms.

The paraliberal view states a number of initial premises which are numbered from 1 to 14. Numbers 1 to 9 refer to its lifestance while numbers 10 to 14 refer to the state. In addition, there is a list of suggested values ​​for individuals and a corresponding list of suggested guidelines ​​for nation-states. The following are the proposed guidelines ​​that pertain to nation-states. The words 'value', 'attitude', and 'guideline' are used interchangeably, and are considered as almost synonyms, with a small difference of emphasis.

Below, numbers are given in pairs, where e.g. 20/16 means number 20 in the English text and 16 in the Swedish text.

Premise 10. The purpose of a paraliberal state is to maintain order, to protect its citizens against threats, to guarantee their civil rights, to provide services for their welfare, and to implement the paraliberal views of individual autonomy and global sustainability.

Premise 11. Humanity is organized in terms of sovereign states, each of which having its own territory, and each also having its own population that in principle resides in that territory. States are not supposed to intervene in the territory or in the internal affairs of other sovereign states.

This premise explicitly rejects the idea of a global government that is sometimes proposed, for example as a way of achieving global sustainability.

Premise 12/--. A sovereign state is said to be trustworthy if it respects the rule-based international order and, in particular, the principle of pacta sunt servanda, meaning that it upholds the agreements that it has made.

Premise 13/--. A state is said to be a paraliberal state if it is trustworthy (in the sense defined above), if its behavior is guided by a body of knowledge and a set of values that represent a consensus among its citizens, and if its values agree with the paraliberal view, at least in general terms.

Premise 14/22. A paraliberal state and its citizens must treat other trustworthy states and their citizens with respect and generosity.

Premise 15/11. If a strong majority of the citizens in a sovereign state are autonomous individuals with paraliberal views, then it is possible for them to establish or to maintain a paraliberal state.

Premise 16/12. In a paraliberal nation-state, all citizens that embrace its foundational values are regarded as members of the nation, and as equals in that respect. No one may, against their will and without valid reason, be excluded from the value community that the nation is, by definition. At the same time, the state must accept that there may be citizens that make it known, explicitly and by their free choice, that they do not accept the foundational values. They are nevertheless full citizens, but their choice is a valid reason why they should not be considered part of the nation.

This premise is based on the definition of a nation as "a value community for society-founding values that has established, or wishes to establish a state that is organized according to these values". Such a state will be called a nation-state, and the collection of its society-founding values will be called its democratic code.

Premise 17/13. A paraliberal nation-state shall apply representative democracy, which means that all important decisions are made by individuals and assemblies that have been appointed by universal and equal suffrage in secret ballots. The right to vote shall also include citizens that have chosen not to be part of the nation.

Premise 18. A paraliberal nation-state state must be based on two interdependent resources, namely its foundational values and its legislation, both of which are supported by the major part of the citizenship. The first purpose of both shall be to protect the integrity, autonomy and civic rights of all individuals in the population, as well as to support efforts towards the sustainability goal.

Premise 19/15. In a paraliberal nation-state, the state's responsibility to guarantee the civic rights of its population is exercised not only through its laws and legal systems, but also in several other ways. These include preventive measures that reduce the risk of violations of civic rights, as well as the state's responsibility for defense against external threats, for maintaining an infrastructure whereby every citizen can find their livelihood, for creating insurance systems of various kinds, and for establishing safety nets for citizens with special needs. They may also include an authority for the redistribution of property and of income in order to ensure that the rights of all citizens are respected, and to counteract socially harmful inequalities in these respects.

Premise 20/16. A paraliberal nation-state is in itself a cultural expression that has an intrinsic value, and one of the tasks of a nation-state is that it must act to ensure its own survival and continued function as a liberal democracy. At the same time, it must respect and support other states in their efforts to ensure their survival, as well as their continued function insofar as this is consistent with the principles of civic rights.

Premise 21/17. A paraliberal nation-state has three major resources that are necessary for its long-term existence, namely its territory, its national language(s), and its value community. The care of these resources must therefore be a high priority. In order for the State to carry out its tasks, it must have control over its territory and its borders, and over the legislation that must apply within its territory.

Premise 22/18. Open exchange of information and open debate are important preconditions for a state to function well. They are needed for bringing attention to situations where civic rights or other foundational values are not being respected, and for engaging the popular opinion in such cases. They are also needed as carriers of the discussion of foundational values that should occur in the national value culture.

Premise 23/19. Since a paraliberal nation-state needs to have an effective agreement on its own foundational values, it is an important task for the state to organize consultations where these values are discussed and agreed, and where they can also be revised if necessary.

Premise 24/20. As a consequence of Premise #16, the paraliberal nation-state must ensure that its young generation learns both the principles of liberal democracy and the prevailing foundational values, and it must strive for their adoption of these values.

Premise 25/21. In the case of citizens that have made it clear that they do not share the foundational values, it can normally be assumed that such persons constitute a small minority, and that the foundational values will prevail. However, should the state, by some course of events, make decisions that would permanently change its character drastically away from these values, then the nation and its members have a moral right and obligation to intervene, and to ensure that the state returns to its previous values.

Premise 26/26. Universities and other academic environments must not have rules that require their employees and students to limit themselves to the foundational values ​​in their choice of teaching materials or in their research. In such environments, it must be possible to advocate positions that run counter to the foundational values, in order to debate them and review them.

Premise 27/--. Value statements that are specific to one or more religions or alternative philosophical positions shall not be included among the foundational values of a paraliberal state.

Premise 28/--. If a value community in a paraliberal state embraces values that are compatible with the state's foundational values, then the state shall respect the integrity of this value community and not interfere with its beliefs.

Premise 29/--. The state-founding values shall include a rule that contributions to the common discourse in the state's affairs shall adhere to the principle of public reason.

Premise 30/27. The attitudes concerning respect for, and defense of one's own country are expected from all citizens, including those that do not accept the foundational values as a whole. This includes e.g. the attitude of National anchoring. The state has a mission to promote these attitudes.

Premise 31/28. Separatism should be seen as a possible threat to a democratic society. It shall therefore be treated with caution from the point of view of the state, and lead to clear countermeasures if necessary.

Premise 32/29. If a norm in a normative community of values ​​contradicts the laws of the state or the foundational values, it is the latter that will apply. No one has the right to invoke e.g. freedom, conscience, freedom of religion or membership of a normative community to assert a right to deviate from applicable law that has been decided in a democratic way.

Premise 33/30. A norm-setter or moral teacher in a normative has unlimited decision-making powercommunity is expected to adopt the attitude of public reason, and to contribute to its use by others. They do not have the right to urge members of their community to reject the foundational values ​​that apply in the nation state where they are staying. Guideline Premise 34/23. All residents and migrants that are present in a state's territory shall be able to exercise their negative civil rights, and all the residents shall be able to exercise their positive civil rights as well. The state has the right to make some restrictions on the positive rights for those citizens that have chosen not to be part of the nation.

The actual population in a country is thus considered to be divided into 'residents' and 'visitors' for the purpose of these guidelines.

Premise 35/24. Stateless persons that are present in the territory of a state shall be given reasonable access to the positive civil rights that are enjoyed by the citizens. The same shall apply for citizens of other states when those states are not able or willing to guarantee the civil rights of these nationals. However, the state always has a moral right to set limits on the extent to which it accepts to meet such needs.

Premise 36/25. When deciding on applications for citizenship, or requests for entry by migrants, the nation-state can fully exercise its sovereignty. In doing so, it has a moral right and obligation to ensure that its basic resources, and its ability to perform its basic functions, should not be threatened whether in the short or the long term. Within these limits, it must exercise the greatest possible generosity to those in need.

This version of the page was posted on 2023-08-17.