Difference between revisions of "Sci"

Revision as of 00:47, 31 August 2005

Sci

Flag of Sci
Motto: "Knowledge is freedom."
N/A
Region	Oblivion
Capital	Darwin
Official Language(s)	Lenge Scien, English
Leader	(oligarchy)
Population	N/A
Currency	Util (SCU)
NS Sunset XML

The Meritocracy of Sci (sometimes Technocracy of Sci) is an elitist nation which pursues scientific research and limited humanitarian aims. A conservative, pacifist government holds in check a relatively activist population. It has a free market economy which has been undermined by socialist welfare policies. It is notable for its low crime and the high levels of health and education among its citizens.

Sci is considered a world benchmark for civil rights, but has a lackluster economy and little political participation by the masses.

Government

The "Meritocracy" of Sci is a constitutional oligarchy with limited powers. All residents (Sci does not distinguish between citizens and non-citizen residents) are eligible to participate in government, but only upon completion of strict education and testing requirements relevant to the bureau of interest. There is no voting, unless one counts the decisions made by small committees using majority rule.

Governors

Sci's government consists of multiple ministeries or bureaus with clearly-defined areas of responsibility. Additionally, each bureau has equivalent posts for different parts of the day, so that the government need never sleep. (The potential for sleep-debt-related mistakes is taken very seriously in Sci.) The most powerful is Education, which sets entrance requirements for the various posts, followed by State, which settles disputes among the bureaus as well as reviewing laws for constitutionality and consistency. Exterior is responsible for foreign relations and defense. Interior manages most of the law of the land. Science handles the distribution of any funds beyond those used by other bureaus (note that Sci's constitution requires the government to operate with a balanced budget).

• Diurnal Minister of Education: Rebecca Hofstadter
• Nocturnal Minister of Education: Immanuel Watson
• Over-Minister of State: Thucydides Sugre
• Diurnal Minister of the Exterior: John Williams
• Nocturnal Minister of the Exterior: Kimberly Fitt
• Diurnal Minister of the Interior: Patricia Friedman
• Nocturnal Minister of the Interior: Sophie Sigurdst
• Diurnal Minister of Science and the Arts: Sigmund Hamish
• Nocturnal Minister of Science and the Arts: William Singer

Legal Rights

Sci's constitution guarantees two very broad and interconnected rights:

'Equality under the law' prohibits the government from discriminating among its citizens, with exceptions for differences which are materially relevant to a given law: a program may selectively benefit citizens with special needs or citizens which can be benefited at a cheaper (per head) rate than others; it may also selectively employ citizens with specific aptitudes. This right subsumes many traditional rights as the right to own property.

'Freedom of contract' is somewhat misnamed: it prohibits government interference (other than monitoring) in any private affairs (activities whose direct impacts are solely felt by consenting adults; adulthood in Sci is measured by passing of a psychological examination and is normally reached between the ages of 12 and 30). As such, it subsumes parts of traditional rights to assembly, speech, religious exercise, and others.

Other rights not found in the constitution but still enjoying some legal protection include freedom of communication, the right to a free education (education is noncompulsory but guaranteed free of charge to anyone who can show capacity to learn; since government participation is in most cases tied to education level, this represents an important concession toward democracy), right to basic subsistence, and various poorly-defined "heritage" rights involving access to, or possibly just existence of, public domain resources.

The press does not enjoy any special protection beyond what is covered by freedom of communication. The government runs its own very popular press corps, and is estimated to control 43% of the media consumed by viewers.

Taxation and other Revenue Sources

Sci's tax system is moderately regressive except at the lowest income levels. Residents pay a flat income tax of 25%; however, all residents receive stamps which are redeemable for minimum subsistance needs: food and shelter.

The government also collects revenue from a "pollution tax", a "contract stamp" which must be payed on contracts for them to be legally enforceable, and user fees for various services.

The government holds the controversial view that, when any animal (including humans) dies in Sci, its corpse belongs to the state. With humans, this policy is used to support compulsary organ donation, which organs the government then sells for profit, as well as dna samples and autopsies as part of various long-running government-supported scientific studies. With animals, combined with some import barriers, this has allowed the government to impose a nearly vegetarian diet on its citizens.

There are no tariffs on imports, although meat products and many weapons are banned from being imported, possessed, or sold.

People

• Population: 200 million in 2001
• Median age (not including infants): 44.9 years
• Life expectancy at age 1: 84 years

Note: people are not counted, nor given any legal rights, until they demonstrate minimal communication ability. The government collects but does not publicize information on infant mortality and infanticide rates.

Religion

Sci was originally founded as an atheist state. However, it has actively welcomed religious refugees from other countries, and now contains a substantial theist minority.

2001 census: religious affiliation:

• Atheist - 63%
  • "none" - 41%
  • Humanist - 22%
• Theist - 21%
  • Jewish - 8%
  • Christian - 4%
  • Deist - 4%
  • Universalist - 3%
  • "Other" - 2%
• "Agnostic" - 12%
• Mystical - 4%

Ethnicity and Language

Data on ethnicity are not available. Sci's population is generally of Northern European descent.

Sci has an official language which is artificial, called Lenge Scien, which has been introduced with only limited success despite being used widely in computing. English, however, is spoken universally.

2001 census: immigration status:

• Native Born - 59%
• Immigrant - 28%
• Temporary Resident - 13%

2001 census: primary language:

• English - 82%
• Lenge Scien - 6%
• German - 3%
• French - 1%
• Hebrew - 1%
• Dutch - 1%
• Russian - 1%
• Mandarin - 1%
• "other" - 4%

Economy

Social decisions have left Sci with a mediocre economy due to high nonemployment rates: single-income households are the norm. Nevertheless, its economy is high-tech. It is a world leader in biotechnology.

The Scien Util (SCU) has had poor performance in the past few years, and currently trades at a rate of about four Utils per Euro or three Utils per U.S. Dollar.

International Trade

Sci is a net exporter of pharmaceuticals, electronics and office equipment, chemicals, aerospace, and information services.

Sci is a net importer of manufactured goods, textiles, and fuels. It operates at a trade deficit.

Sci is neither a debter nor a creditor nation. It has been known to trade foreign aid for rights to gather scientific data and specimins from other nations; outright gifts are rare.

Energy and Agriculture

Sci is a petroleum importer. What reserves it has are locked beneath federally-protected wilderness. A government-backed initiative for transition to nuclear power has been gathering momentum, however. Electric and hybrid gas-electric vehicles have become common after the placement of heavy taxes on automotive fumes. Sci is a party to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change and expects to exceed its goals under that agreement by 2012.

Agricultural products include wheat, soybeans, fruits, and forest products. The government particularly favors fruit production, having a long-running propaganda campaign encouraging consumers to plant and harvest fruit trees instead of other landscaping decisions. Although Sci produces very few domestic dairy products, it does import dairy goods for processing into cheese and yogurt, much of which is then re-exported. Desideria, a washed-rind cheese with a relatively tangy flavor familiar to gourmets around the world, comes exclusively from Sci, as do the Blue Sweet apple and various other specialty foods.

Transnational Issues and Disputes

Biological warfare

Sci has refused entry to U.N. weapons inspectors and has occasionally threatened that "dire consequences" would result from any invasion. It does not have a standing military, so these threats--true or not--are an important part of its defense system.

Extradition

Sci refuses to sign extradition treaties. Under Scien law, nobody may be sent to trial in a foreign state unless it is first demonstrated that the law he is accused of breaking, as well as the management of his trial and potential punishment, are all consistent with the strident rules on rights guaranteed by Scien law. The situation is exarcerbated by Sci's extremely lax border patrol and immigration requirements; Sci has been accused of harboring terrorists.

Intellectual Property

The Sci government considers all "soft" goods that were on the market at least two years ago but which are no longer on the market, as well as "soft" goods which have been on the market for at least thirty years, to be in the public domain; it provides free access to many such goods on government-run websites. This has upset many countries with tougher standards.

Trade

Some nations have argued that Sci's guarantee of a minimum income for all, regardless of employment status, amounts to a labor subsidy. Sci has pointed out that many nations offer some form of social welfare, such as government-funded health care, and that this practice is accepted. The W.T.O. has consistently found in Sci's favor on these issues.

Illicit drugs

Sci is a source of synthetic drugs. It is a minor transshipment point for opiates and cocaine. Sci has also been accused of distributing contraceptives and other medical goods through its embassies in countries where they are illegal.

Major Domestic Political Issues

Political Parties

Sci was once a parliamentary republic; however, its last free elections occurred in December of 1996 (even then, participation was limited to a select group of individuals). In 1997, the country's name was officially changed from "The Republic of Sci" to "The Technocracy of Sci" to reflect the end of democracy. At that point, the government ceased any pretense of representing the will of the people (although it still claims to represent the interests of the people, and still occasionally chooses to hold referenda when there is strong internal disagreement within the government on a particular issue; and in fairness, the rulers have so far appeared to be benevolent, and have made an effort at insuring that nobody rises to power who does not have the country's interests at heart or that if somebody does he will unable to abuse his power to any great degree). Most of the political parties that were active at that time have now morphed into privately-funded non-government organizations.

Nevertheless, a look at the former political parties will give an idea of the major divisions of the Scien people in terms of fundamental political philosophy. They are listed below in rough order of size.

Technocratic Party of Sci

The Technocrats favor government by the elite, and believe that the government should take any measures it can to promote scientific progress and human fluorishing.

For all intents and purposes, the Technocratic Party has become the government of Sci.

Green Libertarian Party of Sci

The Libertarians were the second largest political party of Sci. They advocated minimal government interference in individual freedoms. In particular, they advocated a detailed conception of the principle of subsidiarity, which can be briefly sumarized as: decisions should be made by a representative of those people affected, and only those people. (Implicit, of course, was the idea that private actions that affected nobody but the agent should be entirely unregulated.)

Libertarian principles have largely been respected by the post-democratic government, and indeed many former Libertarians are now members of the government (in particular, the Ministry of State has Libertarian leanings). The remainder of the party has become a charitable organization which engages in some lobbying but primarily mounts constitutional challenges to laws it dislikes.

Democratic Party of Sci

The Democrats tended to oppose the Technocrats. The rejected the concept of rule by elites, instead pushing for greater participation by the people via frequent referenda. They also tended to advocate extended social welfare and more government control of the economy.

Post-democracy, the Democratic Party has become a lobbiest and media organization which attempts to popularize polling data and arguments for changes in public policy.

Green Socialist Party of Sci

The Greens' focus has traditionally been on preserving natural environments--and, to a lesser extent, objets d'art--for future generations.

Following the end of democracy, some Greens became part of the new government (particularly the Ministry of the Interior). The party now uses donations to operate numerous wildlife conservancies, museums, and so on throughout Sci.

Rational Imperialist Party of Sci

The Imperialists, as the name suggests, advocated the creation of an atheistic empire. Their aim was to eliminate religious belief--which they viewed as harmful and contagious mental illness--from the world.

In 1995, Imperialist party leaders were arrested for a conspiracy to provoke an international incident between Sci and a neighboring nation. The end result was that the party was driven underground and eventually disappeared. More moderate members joined the Technocrats or the Greens, and now try to affect change using more peaceable means.

Extropian Party of Sci

The Extropians were closely allied with the Libertarians, albeit with Technocrat leanings. Although generally advocating Libertarian principles, they also favored government investment in technology to increase individuals' freedom and independence.

The Extropian Party has more-or-less ceased to exist, most of its former leadership entering private life and pursuing goals outside of the public sphere.

Church and State

Both major constitutional rights--equality and freedom of contract--have been construed to prohibit government measures aimed at restricting particular religious beliefs or religious exercise per se. The Constitution does not prohibit state establishment of religion or the funding of religious institutions: the founders evidently thought such a prohibition unnecessary, and the several governments have made statements like "Like it or not, law must be informed by questions of ethics, physics, biology, and so on--despite the fact that religions have views about them. While it would be unscientific for us to force dogma down citizens' throats, it would be impossible for the government to avoid taking a position on all such matters."

Demographically, the country is split between an atheist majority (about two thirds of the population), many of whom came to Sci in hopes of showing what an atheist state can accomplish and to feel safe from any threat of religious tyranny, and a large theist minority (about one third of the population) which came to Sci in search of religious freedom. Various government actions and policies have offended both of these groups.

Religious Test for Government Office

Some theist assert that only atheists are allowed in high positions of power. The Ministry of Education, which is responsible for hiring and promoting government workers, denies this charge, claiming that applicants for a position are not required to disclose their religions, but merely to show an understanding of science and an awareness of the current state of scientific research.

The system is complicated and opaque enough that it is difficult to determine who is right, but a casual survey suggests that it is true, as a matter of fact, that of the fifty or so highest-ranking members of the government, none are Christian, Muslim, or Hindi, and those who identify as Jewish or Deist identify with very mild forms of these belief systems. This outcome would be statistically unlikely (p < .05) given a purely fair system.

Eupraxophy as an Established Religion

The government maintains temples called "eupraxotheques" to serve as community centers and to spread humanistic values. These provide services of psychological and ethical counseling (including confidential confession), some limited welfare, library services, and a major venue for public lectures.

Theists have objected that the government offers inducements to people to attend the lectures and thus be exposed to atheist doctrines. Also, it is asserted that, since the eupraxotheques are explicitly intended to compete with churches (and to compete at an unfair advantage, since they receive tax funding), they amount to government establishment of humanism as the state religion.

Atheists have objected to the use of many eupraxotheques on Saturday afternoons (Judaism) and Sunday mornings (Christianity) for religious services, and also to the fact that the counselors employed by many eupraxotheques are clergy.

Education Subsidies for Religious Institutions

The government pays money to educators based on a specific system: when a given child demonstrates competence (usually via a standardized test) of a given skill, his educational institution receives a payment based on the government's estimation of the difficulty and social value of that skill. This means that any institution can receive government education funds if it teaches the subsidized curriculum, regardless of what else it teaches. Consequently, many religious schools receive direct government funding (and indeed they have been shown to be the highest performing schools in some regions). This upsets the atheist population.

Atheists also object to the fact that the subsidized curriculum includes learning about the basic tenets of various major world religions--so, in theory, the government will pay religious parents to teach their children [i]their own beliefs[/i]. Of course, the subsidy for such education is extremely small relative to science education, but this does not comfort critics.

Theist complaints about the system are much rarer, but some object to the presence of sexual education on the mandatory curriculum (the government not only subsidizes the teaching of sexual education but [i]requires[/i] all children to be taught certain points), as well as "selective subsidies" like the fact that teaching of the theory of evolution is rewarded while the teaching of the theory of intelligent design is not.

Abortion and Infanticide

Children are legally considered the property of their gestational mothers (absent any prior contract to the contrary), with no rights at all until they are capable of a certain degree of communication: they can be killed, sold, etc. Most theists, most local and abroad, find this policy abhorrent. Government explanations tend to smell of eugenics--e.g. "The human condition will benefit from parents using any resources at their disposal to get the kind of children they think best. One such resource is culling."--tend to incite greater furor rather than helping to ease the objections.

Marriage

The government recognizes "domestic partnerships", involving various legal rights. Citizens applying for a domestic partnership have several options to choose from, including a measure that prohibits the partnership from being dissolved except in exceptional circumstances (i.e. no divorce) and a measure making adultury a criminal offense for members of the partnership. These stricter contracts are popular among theists, and many theist churches refuse to perform a marriage ceremony until the people to be wed have acquired a strict partnership contract from the government. Many atheists consider these laws to be terribly backward, and indeed have rhetorically compared Sci to places like the Islamic world since most of the world, even Theist countries, do not have such strict marriage policies. The government has held firm in its assertion that, since getting a strict contract is purely voluntary (notwithstanding coercion from people's churches), freedom is not being limited.

Theists, for their part, have lobbied to restrict domestic partnerships--at least the strict kind, which they are in the habit of calling "marriage"--to groups of two people of opposite sexes (at present, any number of people of any sex can get a domestic partnership, with the only restriction being that no person may belong to more than one domestic partnership). They have been ignored.