LANGUAGE FOR THE MONETARY REGIME LAW1
Instead of using the words “adult” and “minor,” or “female” and “male,” or “authority” and “layman,” or any of the many other pairs now used to designate and confuse social roles, this Law uses only two words “sovereign” and “shielded.” A significant carry over from current word usage is that “sovereign” implies decision backed by force. Full definition is given to the word “sovereign” and “shielded” by pointing out their social function.
This Law recognizes that force is an element of every social structure. At the same time it recognizes that a quality of being that inspires protection is the essential balancing element to force.
The force that perpetuates the social organization set forth here is that of sovereign individuals.
Those who inspire and receive the protection of an individual sovereign are designated as “shielded.” The shielded have some protection by all sovereigns and some behavior is enforced on them by all sovereigns. When old enough, children of either sex who have been shielded, may choose forceful sovereignty. As an alternative, they may choose to continue non-participation in the use of force by not declaring their sovereignty.
This Law gives formal social approval to the use of force in certain circumstances by sovereign individuals. This Law severely limits the use of group force. The group can use only as much sovereignty as individuals — by this Law — have delegated to the group and no more.
Within this Law a vote is always a deliberated group decision to use group force within the severely limited area herein specified that group force can be used. Because a vote is a basis for the use of force, only sovereigns can vote on matters that are decided by vote.
A provision for formal combat between individual sovereigns is a group enforced protection against demagogues who seek to extend the areas for the use of group force. Because men of honor and integrity usually disdain the twisted use of mob-swaying words (the reason-mutilating weapon of demagogues) formal physical combat on Nature’s terms is every sovereign’s prerogative.
A shielded person cannot vote and cannot be challenged to formal combat.
Small children cannot effectively function as sovereigns, and some adults may not wish to do so. Such persons may be shielded by a sovereign individual.
The shielded are partially protected from action of other sovereigns by the one sovereign under whose shield they live. A shielded person becomes subject to the discipline of all sovereigns if the one sovereign’s shield is removed.
The following statements help define the terms “sovereign” and “shielded”:
A child is born protected by the shield of its mother if she is sovereign or by the shield of her sovereign if she is shielded. Anyone who has reached the age capable of procreation may become sovereign by formal declaration of one’s sovereignty — except for the special condition noted below regarding formal combat.
Except for the special condition noted below regarding formal combat, a sovereign acting alone may remove the shield from one protected by it. Removal is made by a formal declaration of the fact. The shielded person thereby becomes sovereign.
All who are protected by a sovereign’s shield become sovereign if their sovereign dies or disappears.
A sovereign who is shielding no one may cease to be sovereign and become shielded by another sovereign if formal declaration of the relationship is made by both sovereign and shielded.
A sovereign (unshielded) child who is too young to make a valid declaration of its wishes may become shielded by a sovereign who makes a formal declaration of the relationship.
THE NINE POINTS OF THE LAW
Except in self defense or enforcement of this Law, no one may willfully kill, disable, or permanently disfigure another. No one may secretly restrain another. No one who has reached the age capable of procreation may physically force upon another any offensive, sexually-oriented act; nor engage in any offensive, sexually-oriented act with any person who has not reached the age capable of procreation even when no force is involved. An open (not secret) majority vote of all sovereigns assembled as set forth In §3 below shall be the effective determination as to whether the alleged act took place and whether the act was offensive and was sexually-oriented. Any degree of participation in group force that results in violation of this point of Law regarding offensive, sexually-oriented acts makes every participant fully guilty of the result, along with the person actually performing the act.
No man shall force the act of procreation on a woman without her deliberated consent. Rape Is hereby defined as an act of procreation without the involved woman’s deliberated consent. Any man who engages with a woman in an act of procreation without her formal, publicly-proclaimed deliberated consent may be found guilty of rape. In the absence of a formal public acceptance, the individual woman involved Is the sole judge of whether an act of procreation was rape. If a woman who has not made advance formal acceptance of a man prior to the act of procreation, formally accuses him of rape within three months after the alleged act, and if a majority of sovereigns assembled as set forth in §3 below vote that the man engaged in the act, then It shall invariably be construed as rape – even though it may clearly be shown that the woman Invited, or even persuaded, the man to engage In the act. A woman may revoke formal acceptance of a man at will by giving formal public notice of such revocation.
Any individual, either sovereign or shielded, or any group of Individuals, may restrain persons suspected of breaking this Law for a period of not to exceed fifteen days, conduct a trial for them at a specified, easily accessible place on a date, time, and place publicly and formally announced three days In advance, and penalize (in person or by proxy or proxies) those deemed guilty by an open (not secret) majority vote of all sovereigns at the trial who are permanent residents of The Monetary Regime. (Admission to "The Monetary Regime" is established according to §9 below and the meaning of “permanent resident” is to be defined by those subject to this Law.)
No one shall be required to give testimony at a trial but it Is agreed that one found guilty of perjury by formal trial, as set forth In §3 above, shall be subject to the penalty set forth In §7 below.
No agreements beyond this Law that give a group’s decisions effective power over individuals shall be made. Any group of two or more individuals who make other agreements giving a group decision effective power over Individuals, or who fail to abide by these Laws, shall be deemed a conspiracy against Individual freedom. All acts against them by an Individual or a group of Individuals subject to this Law shall be construed to be self-defense. — Further explanation: Anyone may bring interpersonal problems before a voluntarily convened formal open Forum structured after the manner of a traditional court of law. In such a Forum opinions regarding the interpersonal problems, and deliberated recommendations for settling differences, can be formally given, but such opinions and recommendations will not be binding on those Involved. Those who bring problems before the formal Forum may, if they choose, make personal agreements congruent with the Forum’s recommendations after the recommendations have been made. Those found guilty of making agreements to be bound by the Forum’s recommendations before the recommendations are made are guilty of making agreements giving a group decision effective power over individuals.
Any sovereign may challenge another sovereign to formal combat for any reason. The following are the conditions for such formal combat:
All combat shall be one sovereign individual against one sovereign Individual.
A challenger shall give formal public notice three days prior to combat and a formal public declaration of reasons therefore.
There shall be up to a one year interval from the time one is challenged to formal combat before one may again be engaged as the challenged. This interval may be shorted by the challenged issuing a formal public declaration of its termination. The challenged may not shield others from the end of combat through the end of this interval.
Subject to the following provisions, and to group entities exercising effective territorial power at the time, such as governments whether de jure or merely de facto, the conditions of formal combat shall be established by a majority vote of all sovereigns of The Monetary Regime who assemble after three days public notice. The intent shall be to give challenger and challenged the equal opportunity they would have In Nature — if no human society existed. Terrain of the combat ground shall be varied and extensive enough to permit strategy and to give the physically weak the chance that Nature gives them. Combatants shall have equal weapons and clothing. Weapons shall be a sword or knife with a blade not to exceed 25 cm (approximately 10 inches) plus a 15 meter (approximately 50 feet) length of strong cordage. All previous agreements between challenger and challenged are automatically suspended during the period of formal combat. There shall be no rules within the combat ground. Challenged and challenger shall enter combat ground from opposite sides. No one but challenger and challenged shall be within the combat ground. No one shall attempt to aid, hinder or observe what happens. It Is intended that only one shall return alive from formal combat. When two return alive one shall forever be shielded by the other. The relationship must be announced jointly by them before they are permitted to leave the combat ground. Two are not permitted to return alive if one has been permanently disabled or disfigured by his opponent.
No sovereign who has an unanswered challenge pending may leave The Monetary Regime, refuse combat, or relinquish one’s sovereignty.
Guilt for breaking any point of this agreement shall be determined according to Item §3 above. The invariable penalty for anyone found guilty of breaking any point of this agreement shall be permanent exile within twenty-four hours.
A monetary system backed by property rights shall be established with the following characteristics:
Sovereigns shall periodically be issued an equal dividend in an amount as set forth in §8.7 below.
Individuals claiming property rights shall declare them.
The owner has sole authority to transfer his property. (The Monetary Regime has no eminent domain authority.)
The highest escrowed bid for a property right shall be its assessed value.
Owners shall periodically, coinciding with §8.1, pay demurrage on the assessed value of their properties. The money as high bids in escrow do not pay demurrage.
The demurrage rate shall be established after the manner of §3.
The amount of the dividend shall be established after the manner of §3 with the intent that the cost of homesteading be held constant. Demurrage paid in excess of that issued in §8.1 reduces the money supply by the excess amount. Conversely, demurrage paid in deficit to that issued in §8.1 increases the money supply by the deficit amount. -- Further explanation: "Homesteading" is defined as that which provides, at least and on average, replacement reproduction. "Replacement reproduction" is defined as neutral evolutionarily consequence. "Evolutionary consequence" may include any cultural or biological values that sovereigns consider salient. Homesteading cost is therefore that which is necessary to, at least and on average, maintain intergenerational value.
Admission of an individual, not subject to prior exile, to The Monetary Regime is subject a trial after the manner of §3.
1The language for the Militia Money Monetary Regime, up to and including §7, is derived from p90-93, “Valoric Fire And a Working Plan for Individual Sovereignty” From the Valorian Society ISBN 0-914752-18-9, except for the underlined additions and modifications set forth above. For technical exigesis, see introductory text in Sortocracy's "The State of Nature".