Clemism is the self insert ideology of Clem2k17. It is an economically, and culturally left-wing ideology, seeking to use state powers to protect certain personal freedoms and civil liberties, as well as striving to create opportunities for anyone to climb the social ladder through their own effort and innovation.
Economics
Market Model
Clemism believes in a social market economy, in which the state would provide affordable products and services, in direct competition with private businesses.
The intention, on top of generally creating jobs, would be a basic form of essential goods and services, that any citizen could afford, subsidised through taxes, but with other competing brands providing a more variety, and protecting the right of the consumer to choose the most suitable options for themselves.
The competition of private business would also keep necessary pressure on the state to maintain a good quality of service, and spend the taxapayer's money effectively.
Distribution
Clemism also believes in a distributed means of production, viewing a small number of companies controlling a great percentage of an industry as unfair, particularly when certain socio-political leanings can start to get pushed to the forefront of an entire industry.
To combat this, thorough regulations would be constitutionalised to prevent any shareholder or business controlling too much of any single market. In the case of large-scale projects, requiring more money than any one of these businesses would have at their disposal, smaller companies would instead form temporary coalitions (pending state approval) to fund large projects.
Unions
General Role
Clemism is a great believer in the importance of trade unions to protect the rights of the worker. However, regulations are also required to prevent a repeat of the rapid inflation and substandard industrial output that brought about the Winter of Discontent.
State Mediation
The state would mediate constant dialogue between each industry's union representatives, and a randomly selected jury of businesses, representing that industry, to help both sides to come to workable agreements. The randomly selected industry jury would also help ensure larger companies were not being given preferential treatment in their respective industry.
Industrial Action
Unions would be allowed to request pay increases once, and only once, per year. Businesses would be obliged to give an annual pay rise in line with inflation, and any greater, or lesser, pay rise would have to be justified, and approved by the state. Any industrial action would also require the state's permission, and unsanctioned action would result in a hefty fine to the union, curbing their ability to subsidise workers during illegal industrial action.
Companies would be required to give employees opportunities to buy company shares after five years of service, using up to 10% of their pre-tax annual salary. Employees wishing to sell shares purchased through this scheme would be exempt from capital gains tax, so long as they were still employed by that company at the time, and had held the shares for a minimum of one year. This would encourage workers to become more invested in their jobs, with greater profits yielding greater personal returns.
Protectionism
Clemism strongly believes in protecting local industry, seeing globalism as something which simultaneously errodes local culture, and exploits countries with insufficient workers' rights, under the guise of diversity. Any job that can be done locally should be done locally, and countries should only import goods that they are unable to produce themselves.
Wealth and Welfare
General
Clemism generally believes in high rates of taxation, good public services, and a strong welfare state. The state should provide everyone with enough wealth for the basic essentials by default, with access to accomodation, food, water, heat, light, and necessary medical treatments, being constitutionalised. However, Clemism also believes that the possibility to accumulate wealth should always exist, and that the urge to compete, and climb the social ladder, is one of the most natural and important parts of the human condition.
Universal Basic Income
Clemism believes that the state should use tax money to give every citizen a universal basic income, providing a safety net, delivered via state points card. Every registered citizen would receive a state points card, which would be topped up, automatically, at the beginning of the month, and could only be spent over-the-counter, on approved goods, at physical retail premises. Businesses could then exchange points spent at their premises for equivalent money from the state.
This would ensure that universal basic income was not being mis-spent on vices or luxuries, which it is not the job of the state to provide, and would help people connect with local businesses. The state points card would also require photographic identification to be used, which would prevent fraud, and illegal buying/selling of points cards.
Social Mobility
Clemism would sooner create opportunities to climb the social ladder than simply erasing the social ladder entirely, with the desire to accumulate more wealth being pivotal to human innovation. Such opportunities would include creating more jobs than don't require university education, better investment opportunities for regular, working people, and money management taught as part of the school curriculum.
State
General Role
Clemism believes in a powerful, effective, paternal-minded state, with clearly-defined constitutional limits to prevent tyranny.
Democracy
The Electoral System
Congress and Electing a Head of Government
The Clemist electoral system would be modeled on the British parliamentry system, with members of parliament representing their constitutents, and the leader of the party with the most MPs in the lower house leading the government. Although certain aspects would also be borrowed from the U.S. electoral system. The party leader would not stand in a constituency of their own, so as not to divide their duty. When voting, the name of the party leader, as well as that party's constituency representative would appear on the ballot in that area, forming a constituency ticket. All candidates would therefore require at least one running-mate to stand. Voters would also be allowed to vote for as many tickets standing in their constitutency as they wished, though only once for any given candidate.
Serving Terms in Office
The length of the government's term, before another general election, would span 3-6 years, and would be determined by how many successive terms their party had been in government. A party displacing the incumbent would serve a three-year term, before another general election. If an incumbent was successfully re-elected, their second term would be four years, a third consecutive term would last five years, and a fourth lasting six years. Subsequent terms would also last six years.
The government would not be allowed to call snap elections before the end of their term, nor could a vote of no confidence oust a leader or party from power. However, as they hold public office, elected representatives could be removed via impeachment proceedings, if found to be in severe violation of their code of conduct, or the head of government could leave their post voluntarily, if they were no longer able to uphold the role.
There would be no direct limit on the number of terms a leader could serve as head of the government. However, a candidate could not run for re-election to that position, if they had already held the role for a combined ten years or more.
Electing the Senate
After the general election, the Senate seats would be divided up proportionally, reflecting the balance of MPs in the lower house. The parties would then appoint their own choice of senators to fill those seats. Senate elections would then be held at the halfway point of the incumbent's term, allowing the public to grant or withdraw power from the government, by choosing who would sit in the upper house.
Head of State
Under Clemism, the head of government could not also be the head of state. The head of state would serve as an embodiment of the nation, that the people would rally behind, and in countries which still have a monarchy, the reigning monarch would be expected to serve as the head of state. Nevertheless, at the beginning of each decade, there would be a vote, open to the public, to elect the head of state. With the role of head of state being largely ceremonial, symbolic of the state itself, rather than its politics, no one who had ever previously run for election to public office could stand for election to the position of head of state, with the exception of the incumbent running for re-election. There would be no limit on the number of terms, or length of time, for which any individual could hold the office of head of state.
Local/Regional Devolution
Local elections would be held every two years, consistently. Devolved assemblies, representing their regions, would be given freedom to pass whatever legislation they choose, so long as it is not in violation of the constitution.
Public Services
Education
General
The Clemist education system would provide a balanced, unbiased learning environment, seeking to dismantle the fixation with regurgitating information, and instead encouraging critical thought, forming your own opinions, and embracing being challenged on those opinions. Education under Clemism would reinforce the idea that education is a life-long thing, and that it is never too late to re-train, and start a new path.
State schools
The state would provide free education for all citizens, up to the age of eighteen. State schools would follow an approved curriculum, would be subject to regular inspections, with qualification thresholds for members of staff also imposed by the state.
Private Schools
Private schools would compete directly with state schools, and would be allowed to charge whatever fees they deemed appropriate. The competition of private schools would hold the state education system to account, and ensure the taxpayer's money was being spent effectively. Private schools would still, however, have to follow an approved curriculum, with the same qualification thresholds for members of staff as state schools. Although, private schools would keep control over their own payroll, and would not necessarily have to mirror the staff salaries of the state schools.
Higher Education
The importance of higher education (university degrees, vocational courses, apprenticeships etc) would be sorted into three tiers (gold, silver, and bronze), based on how important the state deemed each qualification to be to the future of the country. This would be designed to break the rigid perception of education, with training in trades and skilled manual labour being of a lot more use to society than a university degree in a subject with no job prospects.
Gold status would cover all higher education deemed essential, and all gold students would receive 100% tuition funding, with all debts written off after attaining that qualification.
Silver status would cover higher education deemed somewhat necessary, and silver students would receive between 1-99% of their tuition funds, based on assessments made by the state. Student debts would also be written off for silver-status students, if they are working in a job that uses their qualification, within three years of graduating.
Bronze status would cover higher education deemed surplus to requirement, and would receive no tuition funding.
Healthcare
Police
General
Policing plays a very important role in Clemism, with prevention of crime valued much more highly than punishing crime retroactively. Police would be commissioned and regulated by the state (no private police forces would be permitted), with the state's police devolved into regional forces, and a federal agency, presiding over crimes concerning the state, and national security. Police would be paid and funded through taxation, as well as money generated from fines served to criminals, all with the aim of making law enforcement a well-respected and competitive line of work, on a par with becoming a doctor, lawyer, accountant etc.
CCTV
CCTV would be extremely commonplace in Clemist society. Whilst there would be no state monitoring of private residential developments, the state would 24/7 surveillance of all urban, and suburban public spaces, investing heavily in a high standard of equipment, so that footage could be used as evidence in criminal proceedings.
Powers and Limits
Police would always be expected to use the minimum necessary force to subdue a suspect. Lethal force would be permitted in instances of preventing an immediate risk to life. Police would be permitted to pursue suspects onto private property to make an arrest, but would need a warrant from the state to conduct a search on private property.
Standards, Misconduct and Corruption
Whilst the number of police on the streets would be extremely high, the Clemist police system would spare no expense in vetting, training and supervising recruited officers, to ensure high standards. Investigations into police misconduct or corruption would be handled by a dedicated unit, from another regional force, so as to remove potential bias from the findings.
Transportation Infrastructure
Housing
Broadcasting
Utilities
Arts and Culture
Agriculture
Justice
Legal Proceedings
The presumption of innocence until proven guilty would be strongly protected under Clemism. Names and identifying information of defendants could be withheld and redacted at their request, and would only be published if found guilty. Any attempts to publicise this information without a guilty verdict would be treated as contempt of court, and dealt with accordingly.
Sentencing
Clemism would focus a lot more on reforming offenders, instead of on punitive justice. It would be constitutionally bound that any person sentenced to a prison term would have to be first deemed an imminent risk to the public. The death penalty would be entirely forbidden, and prison sentences would be initially limited to ten years (at the end of this ten years, the offender could be sentenced again, however, if it was deemed they had not fully reformed).
Offenders who were not deemed an imminent risk to the public would be given fifteen-hour per week community service sentences for a pre-determined amount of time, and put on probation. However, the offender would first have to make an apology on the court television channel, using wording agreed with the judge, and stored on public archive. Failure to make this public apology would disqualify the offender from completing their sentence, continuing until such time as they decided to apologise. Failure to attend for community service or probation meetings would be met with disciplinary action.
Cultural Issues and Personal Freedoms
General
Freedom of Speech
Free speech would be strongly protected under the state constitution with Clemism. The only exceptions would be:
- Clearly and directly instructing somebody else to break the law (this does not include ambiguous language, or that which could be implied).
- Defamation against an individual or family unit, either by name, or other information which clearly targets them (context taken into consideration).
Both of these examples would be considered criminal offences by Clemism.
In cases of defamation, any negative assertion made about another person or family unit, which could harm their reputation, must be proven true, beyond all reasonable doubt, within thirty days of a complaint being made to the authorities. The defamatory statement can, with the judge's permission, be retracted within this thirty day window, if retracted with a public apology on the court television channel, using wording agreed with the judge, and stored for public archive.
Patriotism
Abortion
Clemism seeks to advance technology to a point where all unwanted or dangerous pregnancies could be transferred out of the womb, and into synthetic incubators, later adopted, once they are fully developed. In the meantime, abortion in cases of risk to the mother's life, or fatal foetal abnormality, would be permitted at any point, and to terminate an otherwise unwanted pregnancy would be permitted up to 20 weeks.
Gender/Sexuality Equality
Discrimination by Private Business
Political Leanings in Education and the Public Sector
Hate-Crime
Gun Control
Clemism does not believe in a constitutionalised right to bear arms. In certain circumstances, an individual may be granted permission, such as a farmer possessing a shotgun to protect his farm animals from wild animals, but generally Clemism seeks to keep the number of guns amongst the general public to a minimum, in the interest of keeping gun crime down. There would be no open-carrying of firearms under Clemism, and carrying in a public place would be treated as attempted murder.
Assisted Suicide
Assist suicide would be permitted under Clemism, administered by licensed professionals, using humane means (unlicensed practice would still be a serious offence). Applicants would have to present medical grounds, such as terminal illness, and would require state approval to be referred.
Anti-Terror
Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy
Alliances, War and Intervention
Clemism seeks world peace, with enough shared core beliefs eventually spreading across all societies, that conflict ceases to be. More immediately, however, Clemism believes that it is not the place of a state to militarily intervene in the affairs of other countries. Only when a state is directly attacked, or credibly threatened by another nation, should they intervene with military force. Mutually assured destruction all but rules out another case like Nazi Germany, threatening to conquer and annex the world in the 1930s/40s.
Nuclear Weapons
Clemism believes that nuclear weapons have served as an effective deterrent, and the countries which currently possess nuclear weapons have a duty to maintain them. However, no new states should be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. Illegal development of nuclear weapons would constitute a credible threat to other countries, and would justify military intervention (but the evidence to back it up would need to be concrete).
Immigration
Points-Based Selection
Clemism believes that immigration is more than beneficial, in fact entirely necessary to make a nation the best it can be. However, Clemism also believes that a nation state should prioritise applicants with skill sets that are highly-sought after, and in short supply among their own population, annually approving a pre-determined number of candidates, using points-based system.
Deportation and Statelessness
Clemism believes that immigrants who have not gained citizenship, and commit serious criminal offences should have their visas terminated, and be deported to their country of origin where possible. Additionally, a state should have the power to strip its own citizens of their nationality if they commit severe crimes against that state, such as treason or acts of terror. To facilitate this, Clemism proposes the title of "citizen of the world" should be given parity to recognised nationalities, and everyone should be considered a citizen of the world, in addition to any nationalities they otherwise hold by default. The UN should then create a stateless zone, where those who don't subscribe to the idea of nation state could choose to live, and where those who are stripped of their nationality could be deported.
The Environment
WIP
Technology
WIP
Britain and Ireland
Whilst Clemism could be utilised by any nation, it is outlined with the future of the United Kingdom and the Republic if Ireland in mind. Clemism seeks to establish a new entity, called the "Lions Isles", which would see all territories in the British Isles unified, under one constitution, with proportional representation in a parliamentary system of government. Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales would take turns hosting national parliament for a quarter of the year, with devolution to local assemblies allowed to make decisions on local matters, within the limits of the constitution.
Any citizen, or those applying for citizenship, of the Lions Isles could self-identify their nationality as being any region in the new entity with devolved status (e.g. English, Irish, Scottish etc), as well as the option remaining to identify as British, Lion, or a prefered combination (e.g. Irish-Lion, British-Lion, English-British etc). Any self-identified nationality from this approved list would be respected by the state, and treated equally.
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