The Freethinkers
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Contents
Overview
The Sensible Commonwealth of The Freethinkers, or The Freethinker Commonwealth, is a Post-Modern liberal-democratic nationstate, comprised principally of the territories of the continental 'Mainland' located in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, and two autonomous provinces, made up of the 'Freethinker Martian Territories', in the northern oceans of Mars, and the Fargon Archipelago in the far North Atlantic. The main inhabitants are humans, but there is sizable minority of Vampires and the half-breed Ghouls. The government is a democratic constitutional monarchy headed by the Sovereign member of the Royal Family, ruling over an elected unicameral legislature. The two provinces each has their own assemblies to rule on domestic matters, and the Vampire population is autonomous within the Commonwealth and is ruled by the Council of Navarrok, presided over and lead by the reigning Lord of Navarrok.
The Freethinker Commonwealth is a relatively powerful, historically democratic nation with a strong tradition of inclusion and tolerance for almost all species and races within and beyond its borders. The nation is headed by a economically liberal, progressive government and protected by a military that, though relatively small, is one of the best equipped of its era. A strong maritime tradition, both civilian and Naval, runs through the nation and its past and culture, especially in the capital, Navarre, historically linked with the mass immigration of old and the multicutural make-up of Freethinker society today. In the international arena, The Freethinker Commonwealth is a member of the New Alliance Treaty Organization and, more recently, the Concordat. It has forfeited UN membership over disagreements over economic soveriegnty, but nonetheless supports the ideals of the organisation and The Freethinker Commonwealth is an active supporter of improving political and civil rights on the international stage.
Geography
Location: Equatorial Atlantic Ocean
Area:
- Land: ~160,000,000 km2 (Including Fargon & Freethinker Martian Territories)
- Water: ~12,000,000 km2 (Including Fargon & Freethinker Martian Territories)
- Total: ~172,000,000 km2
Border Countries: Euroslavia (Freethinker Martian Territories only)
Coastline: ~4,200,000 km
Maritime Claims:
- Contiguous zone: 120 NM
- Territorial sea: 36 NM
- Exclusive economic zone: 240 NM,
- Continental shelf: 240 NM or to the edge of the continental margin, whichever is greater
Elevation extremes:
- Lowest Point: Green Valley Reclamation, -12 Metres
- Highest Point: Mount Solace, 7831 Metres
Mainland
The Mainland is dominated by its vast, untamed deserts and towering mountain ranges. Comprised of
Fargon Archipelago
The Fargon Archipelago is located in the far north Atlantic, with much of the principle territory located near or above the Arctic circle.
Freethinker Martian Territories
The Freethinker Martian Territories are located in the Northern ocean of Mars, with almost all of the territory situated in deep ocean waters, with only a few icy atolls avaliable for significant settlement.
People
The people of the Commonwealth are an interesting breed, a mix of literally dozens of different ethnic backgrounds, ideologies, outlooks and beliefs that produces an incredibly diverse populace and a true multicultural society. The integretion of several domestic sentient species along with the repeated tides of immigrants from across the world have created a unique national identity that is both diverse in its implications and yet strongly united around a core of notable ideals.
Culture
Ethnicity and Species
The fact that the Mainland has sat at the crossroads of trans-Atlantic trade for several centuries has led to a huge conglomeration of different ethnic backgrounds from across the globe, as well boasting many domestic and foreign non-human races.
- Breakdown of Backgrounds
- Human:
- Non-Human:
Religon
As can be determined by the name and history of The Freethinker Commonwealth, the major religion is distinctly a lack of one. Whereas relatively few people would declare themselves as outright atheists, most citizens do harbour a humanistic or agnostic outlook and organised religion is still considered a minority activity. Nonetheless, recent immigration and improving trade links has started a trend towards a new revival in religious beliefs, especially in growing first and second-generation immigrant communities. The freedom to worship in good faith is a central tenet of the Commonwealth's constitution, and although many do not profess a religious conviction there is a large amount of respect and support given to Religious Institutions as part of the nation's tolerant and mutually-supporting population.
An important note here is the importance of the vampire faith, known as the Reverence.
- Breakdown of Religion
- Secular:
- Reverence:
- Christianity:
- Other Religions:
Government
The Government system of The Freethinkers is a liberal, secular, democratic constitutional monarchy, headed by a Soveriegn Monarch as the ceremonial Head of State, with many of the executive powers entrusted to the current Prime Minister. The legislature is comprised of a unicameral, fully elected assembly collectively known as Parliament, with the party or coalition holding the most seats forming the actual government within the assembly. The smaller Freestian Vampire community has its own governing body ruling on matters of internal affairs, whilst the two autonomous provinces can boast their own assemblies (and heads of Government) which deal with all matters excluding foreign relations and defence seperately from the Mainland Parliament.
See Main Article: Freethinker Government
Suffrage
The ability to vote is granted to all those who have taken the Oath of Representation and completed their obligations to acquire full citizenship. The Oath may be taken from the age of sixteen onwards. The vote is denied, even with citizenship to incarcerated criminals and the clinically insane, as well as being removed for citizens who fail to complete their national service and other civic duties.
Head of State
The official Head of State in The Freethinker Commonwealth is His Majesty King Percival IV of the House of Hapsburg. Though constitutionally the Monarch has significant powers at his or her discretion, including the right to seize land in the name of the state in an emergency, the right to propose or veto a proposed or existing Edict or Act, and the right to over-rule the judgement of the High Court, these powers are very, very seldom used and such an act would be generally unthinkable unless being used a last ditch measure for the defence of the realm or to keep in check an unbalanced Parliament. The Monarch and his heirs are expected to remain strictly apolitical and must remain silent in their political views, although individual charitable work is encouraged (and expected) to a significant extent.
Parliament
Meeting in the Navarre House of Government (commonly referred to as Government House), a large, Gothic-style palace similar along the line of Westminister Palace in London, the legislature of the Freethinker Mainland consists of a unicameral (single) house, known as His Majesty's Parliament, of 800 elected members. Half of these are voted in on constituency, first-past-the-post ballots and the other half voted in through porportionate representation from the nationwide results. The idea behind this system is to ensure that all parties with a meaningful vote can be represented (a party only has to acquire 0.25% of the national ballot to earn a seat) whilst also ensuring that the main parties have sufficient strength to not get bogged down indecisively by coalition building and, unofficially, to ensure 'extreme' parties do not gain decisive decision-making power. All elections for the legislature are conducted every five years and held across the Mainland by Secret Ballot.
The actual Prime Minister (the head of the legislature) him/herself is ceremoniously selected by the Monarch from the party with the greatest number of seats within Parliament. Unlike in many countries, the ruling party can take power even if its total number of seats is outbeaten by an opposing coalition of opposition parties, so long as it retains more seats than any other party alone. However, this is rarely seen, as a qualified majority is required in Parliament to pass most legislation and so even political parties with significant power and even a numerical seat advantage will still often form coalitions in power to ensure the passage of legislation.
The Prime Minister is infact the most powerful figure politically in The Freethinker Commonwealth, having similar abilities and responsibilities of the British or Australian PMs in RL. He selects the cabinet, represents the legislature as a whole in public, writes and approves (some) party legislation and can use the 'Party Whips' to ensure the loyalty of his fellow party members when a ballot is held. The current Prime Minister is Sir Theodore Barham. The Prime Minister's ruling cabinet includes all five major Ministry and fifteen minor Department heads, along with a selected number of Junior Ministers and Ministers-without-Portfolio, with each member of the cabinet is drawn from the ruling coalition.
See also: Freethinker Political Parties
Provincial Assemblies
The two dependent territories (Fargon and the Freethinker Martian Territories) each have their own elected Assembly which oversee all internal matters but do send advisors to the respective Foreign and Defence Ministries to ensure their views are accounted for. These advisors do not, however, have voting power within the Maindland legislature itself, something which still causes some controversy in certain circles.
Plebiscite
The Plebiscite is a interesting (and important) part of the Freethinker democratic process, a nationwide referendum with universal suffrage, based upon a privately submitted petition. A plebiscite can be started by any Citizen of the Commonwealth by collecting a sufficient number of signatures (usually around 100,000 depending on the issue) on a petition to introduce or repeal certain legislation. The result of this referendum has perogative over Parliament, and once enacted can only be vetoed by the reigning Monarch.
The Judiciary
The Royal Judiciary controls the court and prison systems, and is independent entirely of the legislative branches of the Freethinker government, save that the prisons and courts are funded through government taxation. Theoretically the reigning Monarch heads the Court System, though the actual powers this position provides are limited by historical precedent and royal discretion. The de facto head of the Judiciary is the Lord High Justice, currently Sir Micheal Campbelton.
Legalities
- Capital Punishment has been abolished in the Commonwealth since it's official independence in 1885.
History
See Main Article: History of The Freethinkers
Economy
The Freethinker economy is run mostly in the private sector with the Government regulating and in certain circumstances supplying certain Public goods (such as Health and Education services) where it feels the free market alone fails to provide social optimality and universal coverage in the relevant area. Capitalistic free-market systems are the dominant and prefered economic form, and free enterprise and entrepreneurship are encouraged to a large extent, but in turn private and public companies and corporations are expected to act with social responsibility as a guiding principle with regards to their employees, resource consumption and the products they retail.
Basic Statistics
GDP: purchasing power parity - US$212,877,111,879,432.00 (Mt107,513,692,868,400.00)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - US$45,005.00 (Mt22,730)
Population Below (Relative) Poverty Line: 8.2%
Unemployment Rate (ILO Measure): 4.3%
Unemployment Rate (Benefits Measure): 2.9%
Inflation Rate (Consumer Price Index): 2.5%
Labour Force: 4,100,000,000 (includes unemployed)
Currency: Mintel
Currency Code: FMT
Fiscal Year: 7th April - 6th April
Currency
See Main Article: Mintel
The official currency of The Freethinkers is the Mintel (FMT), created to replace the Midlonian Pound when the Freethinker Commonwealth became independent of the Midlonian Empire in 1885. The subunit of this currency is the 'Copper' and there are 100 Coppers (Cp) to the Mintel. The currency is represented in both metal coinage and paper banknotes. The Freethinker Commonwealth maintains a floating exchange rate with other currencies and currently maintains a foreign exchange price of around US$2 with most other economies.
Central Bank, Monetary Policy and Macroeconomic Variables
The Freethinker Government utilises an independent central bank, known as the Freethinker Central Reserve, or FCR , to ensure economic stability and sustainable growth. The FCR was established in the late 1960's as a government answer to several periods of crippling inflation caused by election-time increases in Government spending (to provide short term boosts for economic and political gain). Designed to provide long term stability without the problems of election time economy boosts (and subsequent inflation), the continued successful operation of the FCR and the subsequent steady growth of the economy since its introduction has long been a strongpoint to the Freethinker Liberal Democrats economic credentials.
Instead of Government fiscal policy, the main control of the Freethinker economy is invested in the monetary policy of the FCR. Its capacity to set the interest rate and control the supply of money within the economy allows for more effective and stable control of the economy than government fiscal measures could hope to achieve. The Freethinker National Treasury does, however, set the inflation rate target (currently at 2.5%) for the FCR to follow as a guide , and the FCR adjusts the interest rates and money supply (technically the same thing) to direct the economy towards this level (A low rate of positive inflation is generally seen as an indicator of steady economic growth).
The Government's fiscal policy (Taxation and Spending) is, as under the economic guidelines of the current ruling Freethinker Liberal Democrats limited to providing a break-even zero net revenue loss over the course of a business cycle. This means that limited government spending deficits can only be allowed if directly funded by previous or future surplus from taxation revenue. The excellent economic performance of recent years has, however, ensured that current levels of surplus have far exceeded past expectations and provided the government with sufficient levels of revenue for new increases in the defence and foreign aid budgets without an increase in taxation. Because of this policy and the desire to maintain current economic growth, Income Tax levels have remained reasonably constant over the last few decades at around 20-25%, based progressively on earnings.
Unemployment is generally seen as acceptable at levels of 5% or less, and the current trend tends towards a rate of 3-3.5% on a national average. Extremely high unemployment is seen as one of the few allowable circumstances that Government intervention is considered beneficial, and localised retraining and subsidy based investment has been practised to prevent economic recession in areas which are suffering in terms of significant job losses and other economic malaise.
Economic Overview By Sector
Primary Tier Economy
Agriculture in the Freethinker Mainland is limited to some minor irrigated regions and ,with some modest success, commercial level ranching of domestic species in the more temperate areas. Efforts to increase production through large scale desert irrigation projects have been undertaken with sometimes spectacular results, but nonetheless food output is still significantly below levels of national demand, resulting in a large net import of most foodstuffs. Fishing is in a better condition, with large scale operations for harvesting both fresh- and salt-water stocks, but these activities are also threatened by both declining fish populations and falling public demand, although recent trends have raised optimism of a future recovery.
Forestry is a minor industry at best, with only a limited supply of timber in areas where development of the trade would be profitable. Although there are some large forests in the Southwest and Northeast of the Mainland, the relative inaccessibility of the forests and the dangerous native wildlife deter large-scale investment. Some commercial harvesting is beginning to take off in the Fargon Archipelago, but it remains to be seen how successful this could be given the limited stocks avaliable.
Mineral extraction across the Commonwealth is more common and profitable, and there are significant quantities of Iron ore, Ilmenite and Malachite deposits which are exploited for a variety of metals for both domestic use and foreign export. These operations are sufficiently developed to meet local demand though other ores and materials have to be imported from abroad, notably precious metals and heavy elements. There are significant new deposits being discovered in the Fargon Archipelago and the Freethinker Martian Territories, but these have so far been under-developed due to geographic factors and the lack of necessary infastructure in place. In terms of precious gems, by far and away the major industry concerns are centred around the production and distribution of Moonstone, a rare and extremely precious stone that is practically indigenous to the Commonwealth. There are also some significant gold and silver extraction operations, but this is mainly done to sate industrial demand for electronics and machinery parts rather than for commercial luxury use.
Oil extraction is a newly developing industry with the recently discovered oil finds in the Middle Sea. A total of 60-70 billion barrels of oil are thought to be commercially viable for extraction, and notably there is a strong domestic demand for fuel oils and plastics (although this is currently heavily sated by cheap imports). The rise of oil extraction and associated industries is heavily relied upon by the government to replace jobs lost to inexpensive imports in the consumer luxuries market.
Secondary Tier Economy
The manufacturing sector of the Freethinker economy is coming out of a major transformation from the old quantative-based to a new qualitive based sector as a result of new and improving trading links.
By far and away the most successful industries within the Commonwealth are Shipbuilding and Arms Manufacturing, both sectors which have been on the forefront of the transformation. The rise of FDI Group, for one, represents the maturation of this sector of the Freethinker economy within the new global and interstellar economy.
Tertiary Tier Economy
For the last thirty years the economy of The Freethinkers (although more in the Mainland than Fargon and the Martian territories) have been dominated by the service industry, in particular there has been a substantial rise in the international banking and commodities trading sector, based on the huge network of tradelinks established by the Commonwealth.
See also: Freethinker Corporations
Economic Issues
As with most developed economies, the high standard of living has resulted in higher wage costs to firms, resulting in increasing costs and reduced efficiency margins for Freethinker companies. This is not considered too much of a major issue at present as most manufacturing positions are based in qualitative rather than qualitive products which are less vulnerable to increasing wage rates. Nonethless the Government and many private firms are implementing large scale capital and training investment to ensure that real competitiveness remains.
The current strength of the Mintel is also causing discontent among manufacturers in particular, due to decreasing competitiveness abroad and the growth in competition at home, and there is particular domestic anger at the current Freethinker Liberal Democrats position of not introducing protective tariffs to reduce the entry of extremely cheap consumer goods from some of the Commonwealth's new trading partners. This has lead to some citing of betrayal by many who have lost work in the respective industries and has sparked riots and protests in several cities. The policy also has had a limited political fallout on the Government itself, though not to a significant degree.
Long-term concerns also include the economic stagnation of several cities (notably Ademsea and Delta City) and industrial districts in the Mainland itself, with the new service-based economy leaving many old industrial towns without principal employers, leaving only mid-scale service sector jobs as the main source of income. Whereas there has been significant investment into creating new job oppurtunities, no major new industries have been established in many places, and most of the new employment options are limited to basic low-skilled service sector positions. In turn this has lead to more negative political consequences, including for the first time in half-a-century the genuine threat of widescale popularity for far-right and far-left groups in certain portions of the population.
Health & Education
National Healthcare
"Universal coverage with private sector efficiency, the best of both worlds" - Health Secretary Brian Depimer.
As per the Freethinker Constitution, access to free, high quality healthcare is a basic right for all Freethinker citizens. The actual application of this right through Government policy is managed through a comprehensive (and compulsary) National Insurance scheme, which provides funds for both public and private medical institutions.
Education System
Eduction is free and compulsary from the ages of 5 to 16, although almost all students will stay on in some form of higher education until at least 18.
See also: Freethinker Universities
Infrastructure
The harsh nature of Freethinker geography has lead to daunting challenges for the civil engineers of the Commonwealth, but this adversity has been meet by determination and ingenuity on a breathtaking scale.
Roads & Railways
Basic Stats:
Waterways
Basic Stats:
Communications
Basic Stats:
Power Generation and Distribution
Basic Stats:
See also: Freethinker Super-Engineering
International Relations
Immigration
Immigration into The Freethinker Commonwealth is actively encouraged, especially of foreign academics and entrepreneurs (and special bodies have been set up to encourage this), although all who are willing to work are generally welcomed and accepted. There are no set limits to the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country, however, certain health and security checks have been recently introduced to ensure that this liberal policy does not allow a freeflow of contagious disease or permit major security threats into the nation.
Typically, economic migrants are granted a one year probationary visa, which when expired a migrant can apply for a residency permit should the terms of the visa be met. Once residency has been established, a migrant is free to work and move within the Commonwealth and undertake private employment, although government positions, military posts and political voting rights are not granted. Freethinker Citizenship can be applied for after six years of residency, barring illegal action or unentitled welfare claims (which can result in deportation). Once citizenship has been achieved, new citizens will face commitments such as National Service in terms of their new nationality.
The actual demographics of immigrants are typical for a liberal western state, including civilians fleeing foreign wars and persecution, however, economic migrants and imported skilled labour make up the majority of newcomers.
See also: Freethinker Citizenship
Foreign Disputes and Illegal Activities
Organised smuggling operations are a serious problem within the Freethinker Commonwealth. The position of the Commonwealth in the centre of many trade networks has lead to a substantial black market operating within the country, including the transhipment of drugs, weapons and increasingly slaves of various races. Efforts to crack down on this behaviour have been limited in their impact, given the sophisticated nature and deep local roots of such groups and the indifferent attitude of the local population. Suspicion of support from local intelligence services is rife but the government has denied such allegations. Money laundering is also an issue due to the highly developed financial networks built up to support international trade, although recent efforts to combat this through new regulations and government oversight have had some success.
Organised crime is however significantly limited in scope aside from international transhipment activities. Given most narcotics are legally avaliable and prostitution is fully legalised there is little in the way of profitable activities outside of extortion and blackmail, which have been made increasingly difficult by encroaching police initiatives. The Commonwealth has taken an extremely hard line against such organisations and as such they are considered by most commentators to be non-existent actors outside of the above aforementioned areas.
Piracy remains a significant threat away from the established sealanes around the coast. Whereas most routes are well guarded and constantly patrolled, the vast unmonitered coastline and the relative ease of acquiring weaponry on the grey and black markets has meant a number of small time pirate groups have emerged. A recent investment in patrol boats and aircraft have reduced the number of attacks but most merchantmen which run outside of protected corridors still carry heavy armed protection.
The Freethinker Commonwealth has no territorial disputes with other sovereign states at present. All previous disputes with Midlonia and Knootoss have been settled by treaty.
International Organisation Membership
Military
Economic
Military
See Main Article: Freethinker Royal Armed Forces
The military of the Freethinker Commonwealth is the Freethinker Royal Armed Forces, established in 1885.
Basic Statistics
Military Budget: US$18,150,240,000,000 (Mt9,166,790,000,000)
Military Branches: Army (Freethinker Royal Army, Freethinker Ground Defence Force, Royal Militia Corp, Crown Free Legions), Navy (Freethinker Royal Navy, Freethinker Royal Marines, Freethinker Coastguard), Air Force (Freethinker Royal Air Force, Freethinker Air Defence Militia), Space Command (Freethinker Royal Spaceborne Navy, Freethinker Royal Space Marines, Freethinker Orbital Defence System), Intelligence Agencies (Commonwealth National Intelligence Organisation)
Military Manpower:
- Age for Service: Humans: 16 years of age, Ghouls: 16 years of age
- Active Military Personnel: ~30,000,000 (male and female, human/ghoul)
- Available Military Personnel: ~4,200,000,000 (male and female, human/ghoul; able-bodied and of military age)
- Military Trained Manpower: ~3,800,000,000(male and female, human/ghoul; compulsory National Service in military setting)
