[AMP] This Manifesto Goes to 11
Feb 26, 2019 1:14:23 GMT -6
Gödafrïeu Válcadác’h, Óïn Ursüm, and 6 more like this
Post by Ian Plätschisch on Feb 26, 2019 1:14:23 GMT -6
Why AMP?
The Kingdom of Talossa has seen a marked decline in activity over the past few years. Many have pontificated over the source of the problem and potential solutions, but no significant action has been taken. After months of considering possible remedies and their theoretical underpinnings, AMP is ready to present our comprehensive program. At the heart of it is you, fellow Talossan.
Time and time again, we have seen that the Government simply cannot take it upon itself to create more activity in Talossa. Government initiatives to increase activity generally attract even less participation than private projects. Of course, most political parties are aware of this fact by now. However, it is often confused for the very different notion that there is nothing the Government can do at all to increase activity. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are many reforms that would make it easier for Talossans to engage in and enjoy whatever it is that they like to do (“awakening” passion) and make it more likely that such engagement will lead to even more engagement by other citizens (“magnifying” passion). In short, the Government needs to be a conductor of activity, not the battery itself (and definitely not an insulator, which all too often it is).
Here is how we do that.
1. Take a Chainsaw to Bureaucracy
The Talossan bureaucracy is designed for a country that has at least double the number of active citizens we have. For it to work, it needs to be significantly more flexible and robust against officials who become inactive. As it stands now, citizens are preempted by statutes nobody use, ensuring nothing gets done. A few examples:
• The office of Commissioner of the Royal Civil Service, with no offence to current and previous Commissioners, is useless. The Seneschal and other cabinet ministers have the best knowledge of their ministries and where non-political work needs to be done. Indeed, permanent secretaries must already be approved by the relevant minister, and we cannot envision a scenario in which the Commissioner would refuse an appointment; getting his approval is just an extra step. The King must confirm appointments anyway, which should alleviate any concerns about separation of powers. The other officers of the civil service could be appointed in the same way as permanent secretaries or through a vote of the Ziu.
• Title I, however funny it may be, is never used. If we repeal it, we can empower those who do participate in the Talossan military to govern themselves without having to go through the Ziu.
• All regulations regarding the duties of both officers of the Royal Civil Service and cabinet that are not absolutely necessary should be repealed. The people who hold these positions have the best knowledge of how their time would be best spent and what organizational structures would be most effective. If the electorate disagrees, they can vote the incumbents out of office.
In short, as many decisions as possible should be delegated straight to the people participating in whatever the project is. Not only will this result in more flexibility and adaptability, but will also make everyone involved more motivated and satisfied.
2. There Are Too Many Ministries
It is obvious at this point that several current portfolios entail so little work they are mere sinecures, and the duties of others (such as STUFF) are mostly non-political and could be handled by a civil servant. AMP proposes a cabinet of only four people; a Seneschal, a Distain, a Minister of Culture, and a “Minister of State” who would combine the roles of Foreign Minister, Interior Minister, Finance Minister, and Attorney-General. Not only would this add prestige to being in the Cabinet and ensure that only the very best are selected as Ministers, but transferring more responsibilities to civil servants would also provide more continuity between Governments. However, we recognize that this will only be possible if the Royal Civil Service is also made more prestigious.
3. And Too Many Provinces
Activity builds on itself; so long as there is some amount of activity in a province, other citizens will be attracted to it, resulting in more activity, and so on. However, because the citizens that are active at any given time are spread between eight difference provinces, it is nigh on impossible for any one province to ever reach this minimum level. AMP proposes that Talossa reduce to four provinces; few enough give each population a jump-start but still enough to allow provinces to have unique identities and an important role in Talossan life. Yes, all eight provinces currently have distinct histories, but that will be little consolation when their histories cease for lack of anything happening there.
AMP would consider moving to a four-member Senate but would also consider electing up to two at-large Senators were such mergers to take place.
4. Talossa, Coming Soon to an Inbox Near You
The Chancery has the email address of every Talossan, but the only people who can use them are party leaders for political campaigning. Even then, an email address can be used only if that citizen has specifically opted in to receiving emails. AMP proposes that all citizens be allowed access to the email addresses of everyone who does not opt out, to promote their cultural initiatives. Consider:
• People join Talossa because they want to be involved in Talossan activities. Just because they may not check Wittenberg very often does not mean they want to be cut off from everything that is going on. They can always opt out if they want, but…
• We doubt that many of the people who currently are not opted in even know that they need to do so.
• The Chancery cloaks everyone’s real email addresses and only displays generic forwarding addresses, so privacy is not a big concern.
If Talossans can contact each other directly about everything, not just politics, it might result in people returning to participate in events they otherwise would not have known were happening.
5. Certified Organic
Attempts to reform the Organic Law have taken up a significant portion of the time of many of our most active citizens for several years. This is time that could have been devoted to other projects that would have been a lot more fun for everyone. To make matters worse, every time there is a reform effort it leads to nasty debate that drives people away from Talossa, and we still have nothing to show for it. The Organic Law still has significant problems though, and we need to fix them as soon as possible, not just because it would be nice to have a more functional Organic Law, but because we need to move on. Luckily, there is a perfectly serviceable proposal sitting in the Hopper right now that is well regarded by MZs from across the political spectrum. AMP will make sure this proposal is perfected and voted on near the beginning of the 53rd Cosa.
6. His Majesty's Most Active Opposition
The best way to have a successful Government is to have an active opposition that holds the Government to account. The previous term demonstrated that the best way to get the Government to respond to a shortcoming was to simply publicize it or issue a Terpelaziun about it. However, quite frankly, the RUMP has largely failed to provide effective opposition over the past three terms, to the Kingdom’s detriment. AMP does not expect to be in Government during the upcoming term but encourages voters to vote for us anyway to provide us with a strong voice with which to keep whatever Government comes to power true to its promises.
7. Return of the King
Talossa is a Kingdom. Even though the King does not have very much political power, he still wields a tremendous amount of ceremonial power and controls all the trappings people like to see in a Kingdom (he is also required for a variety of appointments). Thus, the fact that the current King does not visit Wittenberg (or any other Talossan forum that we are aware of) very often is a big problem. Imagine if the King granted personal commissions to each new member of the Royal Civil Service? Imagine if he had a monthly bill-signing ceremony? Imagine if he talked directly to immigrants? Imagine if he voted in the Talossan Music Top 20? There are so many ways the King could increase the prestige and interest of many aspects of the Kingdom, and insofar as people are attracted to Talossa because of the novelty of the Monarchic ascetic, he is not following through on the awesome duties of his position.
AMP is also inclined to remove the hereditary aspect of the Monarchy. Despite his faults, no one would doubt that the King has a genuine passion for Talossa. However, such passion is apparently not hereditary, since the same cannot be said of the heir apparent. He has posted to Wittenberg only about thirty times in the previous four years, and in the previous two and a half years he has posted only three times (each time just to vote). If he were simply a Talossan citizen this level of activity would be perfectly acceptable, but he is not; he is the heir apparent of the Kingdom.
8. Immigration: The First Frontier
It is our humble opinion that the immigration process does not do a good job of communicating to immigrants why they should care about Talossa beyond its novelty. While the truth is that Talossa is a community of people who are together building and carrying on the legacy of a country unique in its place in the world, it is too easy to think it is just another internet forum. This misconception is reinforced by the fact that immigration revolves around Wittenberg. While there are certainly changes that could be made by the Immigration Secretary acting alone (which is why AMP personnel will be more than happy to continue processing immigrants), AMP also proposes that an element of off-Wittenberg contact be added to the immigration requirements.
9. Quirky Honors for a Quirky Kingdom
All the systems of National Honors proposed so far have met criticism for three reasons; they are too bureaucratic, they water down the value of existing honors, and they would incentive people to participate for the wrong reasons. However, having some sort of official way to be recognized for contributions to Kingdom short of a knighthood or medal could be fun and rewarding if done the right way. We propose that an honors-granting body be formed (preferably by the King) to grant custom, bespoke (and hopefully witty) titles to citizens on occasion based on their unique contribution to the Kingdom. Talossans could display their title(s) with pride, but because there would be no hierarchy there is no fear of perverse incentives or bureaucracy. Wittenberg already has a “Custom Title” field in the profile of each account so we may as well use it.
10. Happiness for Talossa!
The HAT party may not have been the best executed, but it did publicize a very important point; if we are to share in this community we and those before us have built, we must be mindful of how we communicate with each other. At the very least, if we cannot tone down our rhetoric for our own benefit, we must do it for the benefit of immigrants; why would anyone want to immigrate to Talossa if all they see are people tearing one another apart? Given the dearth of non-political activity in Talossa, politics is nearly the only thing prospective citizens can observe, and we are not putting our best foot forward. This is not to say that spirited debates or harsh critiques should be frowned up, far from it, only that at the end of the day we must strike a balance and remember why we are all here in the first place (and we can guarantee it is not to engage in endless arguments that go nowhere). Apart from supporting a cabinet that commands the respect of the nation, there is not much AMP can do politically to address this, but we do pledge to lead by example.
11. A Movement That Isn't Just Political
We have a lot of political beliefs, but we also recognize the importance of non-political work. We don’t expect the following projects will earn us any votes, but we would like to let Talossa know of some of the other plans our members have in line with our philosophy:
• A newspaper! (because people love it when the cool stuff they do is reported on)
• A talk show to go along with the newspaper! (because the best dialogue is face-to-face)
• InspireCon! (a convention where we get as many speakers as possible to share what inspires them to participate in Talossa)
• The Gallery of Citizens! (essentially a Google Form that tries to identify interests that citizens have in common and allows them to get in contact)
Congratulations for making it to the end of the Manifesto. If you actually read most of it then you probably should
Become a member of AMP! We are in urgent need of citizens to hold our seats in the upcoming Cosa. There are no requirements except that you generally agree with our philosophy and platform. Send Ian Plätschisch a PM if you are interested.
Even if you don’t want to be an MC, your membership (or even just your vote) would be much appreciated.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
