Sovereignty of Self-Governed Cities and Abolition of National States and Capitalism

An orderly withdrawal from the national states

National borders are therefore abolished worldwide. This constitution shall go into effect when a critical mass of cities worldwide and in key countries shall have approved it by referendum of their citizens, that is of all adults resident in the city for a period of more than 90 days.

Once this constitution has gone into effect, citizens of cities being the vast majority of the world’s persons shall cease to pay taxes any longer to national states.

Communal Economy and the delineation of territorial access to resources

Every city and township shall be the collective owner of all the natural resources, land, water, and business enterprises within its territorial reach. That territorial reach will be determined by the General Council of Cities and Regions for its region, which will be constituted 2/3 by citizens of the member cities and townships of that region and 1/3 by citizens of cities and townships from other regions of the continent of which that region is part (North and Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania).

The members of General Councils shall be citizens of important standing in ethics, ecology, science, religion, learning or medicine and other fields, but shall not be persons with longstanding relationships to large scale economic or political interests apart from those of their city as a whole. These will periodically, as needed and appropriate, re-designate the boundaries of cities, and a General Council of Regions and Continent shall do the same for the regions making up a continent, with a General Planetary Council determining the boundaries of continents (much more rarely but if and when needed). Council members shall be nominated by citizens and elected city-wide.

Every city or township shall establish both a television station available by satellite (see below), and an internet portal, as well as a social media page, through which citizens, schools, artistic, scientific, political, philosophical and other groups as well as cooperatives may express their views, provide information to fellow citizens and which are available for viewing by other cities worldwide and by their citizens. The city shall be the owner of these media though their management will be by a cooperative as with other public functions.

Every city and township shall establish a public finance institution that shall create money and distribute it to the persons and organisations making up the city.

Every citizen shall, at birth, or after 90 days of residency, be provided with an account in which a sum of money sufficient annually for them to live comfortably shall be direct deposited. This money shall be the local currency, utilisable only within the boundaries of the city itself.

Every city and township shall establish a currency which shall circulate only within its own boundaries, and shall create this money through direct grants to the accounts of cooperative organisations such as business enterprises of all types, schools, universities and other learning or research institutions, health care, transport and all service organisations, and into the accounts of each individual citizen of the city. No other form of money creation public or private shall be permitted nor legal within city limits per se.

A Universal Money shall also exist which shall be provided, in proportions of no greater than roughly 1/5 of the local monies, by the global public authority (see below) through an agency that shall provide these funds (the 1/5 quantity with respect to the volume of money creation in that city of its local money) directly to the municipal authority to be distributed as determined by the citizens assembled of that city or township.
Additionally, an amount which shall be the same for all persons on Earth shall be distributed directly to the personal accounts of each of individual citizen of each city and each opting out individual person. In initial stages of this constitution’s adoption, sums of Universal Money shall include extraordinary grants to poorer areas of the world so that they may obtain the technology, means of production, goods, resources and training to enable them to quickly establish a renewable energy base, sustainable and easily accessible transportation and up to date communications, as well as sufficient housing, appropriate medical care and food production for their citizens’ needs.

The Universal Money shall be the only money allowed to be used for all transactions between cities, between organisations and enterprises established in different cities, townships, regions or continents, between individuals residing in and holding citizenship of different cities or townships, or involving any opted out persons.

At some point when and if the general and sustainable productivity, abundance or wealth of human beings collectively reaches the point where money is determined to be redundant, a global referendum shall be held on whether to retire all money in favour of direct appropriation of all goods and services and on what basis such a system shall be established.

Restriction of Large Businesses, Prevention of Capitalism Developing in the Interstices

Under no circumstances may any cooperative or other enterprise operate, be registered or engage in activity in another city or township, or in more than one city or township, except where requested to provide emergency aid. Nor may any enterprise of any kind composed of, founded by or operated by or with the work of opted-out individuals operate, be registered or engage in activity in any city or township.

No monetary unit or currency originating in or used in the opted out territories, communities or among the individuals consisting therein may circulate or be used for any purpose in cities or townships, and only the Universal currency may be used for any exchange between cities and townships, or their citizens and cooperatives and enterprises and any individuals, enterprises or communities and organisations that are opted out or that operate in opted out territories.

While cooperatives and other organisations and enterprises, as well as cities, townships, and associations may all act – as determined by the collective decision of their citizens or members – as a unit for purposes of carrying out their activities, and while these activities may include in some townships or cities that choose to allow this some representation, delegation or other voice in political or economic affairs of said city or township or the region of which they are a part, such recognition of corporate or collective existence shall never be understood, construed or asserted to be synonymous with the duties, powers, obligations, rights of and obligations of others to individual living human beings nor even of animals and other living things. This recognition of existence sui generis as a unit or collective is the recognition by cities and townships of the cooperative nature of the activity of the individual persons making up such units, and does not mean that these may use their advantages as collectives to outvote, out-finance, out-organise or in any other way to unduly and disproportionately influence decision making, administration or political and economic life in the cities, townships or regions.

The Business Corporation as a private interest is hereby abolished as are private financial institutions. Should any of the activities or practices or institutions described in this article be discovered to exist in any city, township, region, or in or among any opted out community or individuals or organisations, or among any associations be they professional, religious, ethnic or tribal, scientific, artistic or of any other nature, these individuals or organisations shall be subject to a universal boycott of their work, products, services, travel, individuals (who will thus be denied the possibility of citizenship until such practices desist) or currency.

Prohibition of Debt and Credit

No city, township, citizen of either, nor any region, association, organisation or opted out community, individual or organisation may engage in the use of debt, nor expect collection or restitution of debt by others. All payments shall be made upon rendering of goods or services, or within no more than 30 days thereof, and since currency both local and universal shall be made available in sufficient quantities to guarantee the comfortable livelihood of all, this requirement shall not be onerous. Anyone or any organisation or city, township, region, or other person or organisation found to be engaging in the use of debt for any reason either as debtor (individual or collective) or creditor (either individual or collective) shall be subject to the penalties described for the practice of slavery and related activities.

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This post was written by Steven Colatrella