The 3838 flag of Selucia is seen as a main symbol of Selucian republicanism
Selucian republicanism is a tradition of political thought popular in Selucia and with its roots dating to the Selucian Empire. Selucian republicanism is a modern political ideology deriving from ancient Classical Republicanism. Defining itself in opposition to both liberalism and communitarianism, Selucian republicanism is based on the ideal of liberty as the highest good, which it defines as non-domination and independence from arbitrary rule, rejecting the understanding of liberty as non-interference. Selucian republicanism promotes a system of citizenship based on the republican institutions of the rule of law, checks and balances, and civic virtue, in a political and economic system based on and consistent with Mos Maiorum but not bound by it. As such Selucian republicanism promotes the idea that rights and freedoms are not pre-political but rather the result of public deliberation by active and virtuous citizens involved in issues affecting their life. As Republican liberty is fragile and constantly under threat Selucian republicans believe citizens have a duty to one another and to the Republican community to be actively engaged in public deliberation in order to secure and promote liberty.
Although many ideas are commonly shared by all Selucian republicans, it is a very diverse ideology with several strands that cover the entire political spectrum. Apart from a general commitment to freedom as the highest good, civic virtue, and the rule of law, branches of Selucian republicanism diverge widely in their economic, social, and constitutional values. However they all share an understanding of freedom as non-domination and a positive view of government intervention, provided the government is democratically constituted.
Key tenets[]
Rights and freedoms[]
The Selucian republican understanding of rights and freedoms is meant to serve as a middle way between liberal and socialist conceptions of individual liberty, or between "negative" and "positive" liberty, that is the liberal view of liberty as absence of constraint, thus requiring non-interference, and the socialist concept of freedom as the fulfillment of socio-economic rights, which requires the state to take action and interfere on behalf of the individual. Instead Republican rights cover both civil and socio-economic issues, resulting from a conception of freedom as non-domination; in other words, an individual enjoys freedom only to the extent that no other person or group can arbitrarily interfere in their affairs, and as long as the individual is not subject to the arbitrary will of another, so that they can look every other citizen in the eye as a political equal. Any individual subject to the arbitrary power of another is considered systematically unfree even when not actually interfered with, such as slaves to a well-disposed master or subjects to a benevolent absolute monarch. Freedom is limited when fear of arbitrary interference causes people to modify their behavior in order to avoid the threat of violence. Selucian republicans do not oppose interference in general, and in fact welcome it when it is non-arbitrarily exercized under the rule of law with the purpose of reducing the arbitrary exercise of power. Rejecting the liberal and socialist understandings of rights as limitations or guidelines, Selucian republicans instead emphasize "participation rights" as the most important rights, emphasizing the intrinsic value of political participation as the highest and most transformative form of living together that any individual can aspire to, as it is only through political participation that freedom as non-domination can be secured, enabling citizens to identify with the res publica and its freedoms. Since humans are naturally interdependent, this creates the risk of arbitrary domination in political and private life, meaning that republican freedom is under constant threat and the only way to secure it is through active and daily participation in political affairs. The ideal citizen in the eyes of Selucian republicanism is one who respects individual rights, tolerates different opinions and beliefs, values autonomy, takes an active part in the life of the community, and places the common welfare of the Republic and the well-being of other citizens above their personal or group inclinations, ambitions, and interests. A citizen who acts this way is believed to display civic virtue, and if the public is to manifest this virtue it must be bound by the rule of law. Equally important as the rule of law for Selucian republicanism is self-government; if a citizen is to be free from the arbitrary rule of others, she must be subject to an "empire of laws, not of men", but must also be self-governing, that is a republican citizen is one who acts according to laws she has a voice in making, and not impulsively, arbitrarily, or recklessly. As such Selucian republicans believe that the only way to be free is as a citizen of a free state, as self-government is the most important form of freedom and all other forms of individual freedom are only secure in a free Republic under the rule of law.
Constitutionally, the institutions promoted by Selucian republicanism do not differ significantly from those of representative liberal democracies, however the rationale for these institutions is substantially different. As opposed to a liberal constitution, the aim of a republican constitution is not to restrict interference and to protect "natural" or pre-political rights, but rather to avoid domination, outline how the government should operate, and promote an active citizenry. All other rights and freedoms should derive from and not be the basis of civic participation, and for this reason Selucian republicans are opposed to a written constitution and to enshrining fundamental rights within the constitution or through international treaties. Instead Selucian republicans believe that the constitution should evolve over time, and all rights and freedoms should be the result of public deliberation facilitated by the constitution. This is because for Selucian republicanism the concept of abstract rights, including human rights, is seen as inimical to politics and associated with antisocial individuals outside social and institutional arrangements, believing instead that rights are a civic achievement of socially embedded individuals regulated by laws they pass for themselves as political equals. The aim of a Republic is to achieve freedom from arbitrary rule, not freedom from any rule. As such Selucian republicans see rights as an important aspect in achieving non-domination, but they see them as rights of citizens, not natural rights of human beings that could be held outside society or within any society. Rather rights should result from laws that citizens give themselves as members of a Republic, within a specific context and responding to specific claims. For this reason Selucian republicans opposes "strong" judicial review, that is the ability of courts to overturn laws passed by the legislative, but are not opposed to "weak" review, whereby the legislative has the opportunity to reject the court's ruling, as long as it does so publicly and transparently.
Economy[]
In economic terms Selucian republicanism spans the political spectrum from the center-right to the far left. Selucian republicanism expands the ideal of active citizen involvement and civic virtue to promote cooperative economy where all workers are also owners. Most Selucian republicans understand this as adopting aspects of the Aurorian ideology of Distributism, the idea that ownership of the means of production and productive capital ought to be as widespread as possible, however there are branches of Selucian republicanism in favor of a socialist economy, as well as a minority position in favor of limited state intervention. As such most Selucian republicans are largely ambivalent about the market; they neither consider that free exchange has inherent moral value as in free-market Liberalism, nor do they condemn it as inherently immoral. Instead Selucian republicans believe that what is immoral about market exchanges is if they are conducted under unequal power relations, which, they contend, can lead to the creation or maintenance of arbitrary domination. Instead Selucian republicanism believes that all conditions that produce arbitrary domination must be removed from the market so that it can function as an instrument for freedom, although left-wing Selucian republicans contend that this is not possible and call for the abolition of the market. Right-wing Selucian republicanism instead believes that a republican society should be market-based and property-based, but where restrictions on the distribution of wealth and power need to be created in order to permit the un-dominated exercise of citizenship. As such Selucian republicans generally oppose welfare capitalism, as it does not prevent inequality and hence dominance from arising in the first place and only alleviates its most extreme negative consequences, supporting instead a form of pre-distribution by implementing policies designed to ensure that no individual or group can become rich enough to dominate others and society as a whole and that nobody is poor enough to be forced to depend on others, including by implementing a maximum wage pegged to the local poverty line or introducing a high inheritance tax. On the other hand many, though not all, Selucian republicans are weary of dependence on government aid, which they see as potentially arbitrary and thus a form of domination, and as such they have advocated replacing or scaling back welfare systems in favor of a Universal Basic Income.
Society[]
In social terms Selucian republicanism rejects both conservatism and liberalism, finding both to be incompatible with the ideal of Republican liberty. Instead Selucian republicans believe that individual liberties, while fundamental to civic virtue, should be restricted to only those liberties that are co-exercisable, that is exercisable by each citizen and all citizens together, and among these Selucian republicanism recognizes only those liberties that enhance both the common good and the welfare of the people that exercise them. That is because for Selucian republicanism rights and freedoms do not exist prior to or apart from politics, but are rather the result of political deliberation, rejecting the liberal view that laws are a necessary evil. Instead Selucian republicanism believes that freedom is consistent with and in fact requires an extensive system of laws, provided they protect against arbitrary domination by any individual or group over another, and as long as the state itself does not as a consequence dominate its citizens. Republicans believe that the end goal of all laws is enhancing the common good, which they believe is distinct from the total sum of individual preferences, by cultivating in citizens the qualities necessary for self-governance. For this reason for Selucian republicanism morality is not merely a private concern, but is instead a public matter.
Nationalism[]
Although Selucian republicanism has often been associated with Selucian nationalism, republicans rejects this identification, seeking instead to recover the traditional pre-modern meaning of "patriotism" as love and affection for the people's common liberty in opposition to selfish ambitions by private individuals, and dedication to political unity based on the common good rather than cultural, religious, or ethnic homogeneity. In contrast to nationalism, republican patriotism is based on interdependence and not on commonalty, rejecting the nationalist allegiance to a common identity, be it ethnic, cultural, or linguistic. A further distinguishing feature from nationalism is that in republican patriotism love for the fatherland is not a natural feeling but an artificial sentiment that can only be cultivated through the citizens' shared experience of liberty and equality in a Republic. As such Selucian republicanism perceives citizenship as less exclusive than nationality, seeing it as based on interdependence and not on a pre-political identity, allowing it to embrace a diversity of ethnicity and culture. On the other hand Selucian republicanism also rejects the liberal understanding of citizenship, including civic nationalism, due to its neutrality and claim of distinction from particular cultures within the state. Republicans argue that in practice public neutrality tends to privilege the majority culture, to the detriment of minorities or women. For Selucian republicanism citizenship is determined by common deliberation and interdependence, not on presumed neutrality or predetermined common values. This rejection of nationalism does not however mean that Selucian republicans endorse cosmopolitanism or transnationalism, which they rejects as affecting popular sovereignty and the importance of citizenship. Republicans believe that a Republic is not a club that one may join or leave at will, nor an exclusive relationship like families, friendship ties, or ethnic groups. They rather see it as a semi-voluntary association of people bound together by common predicament, not by culture nor by mere administrative convenience. As such republicans believe that popular sovereignty is essential in securing a non-dominating political and legal system for its citizens. Due to their views on citizenship many Selucian republicans support restricting immigration to only those foreigners that are already in a position of interdependence with Selucia's citizens, including family ties, business or trade relations, colonial history, or missionary activity, and oppose immigration for ethnic or cultural Selucians who are not interdependent with Selucia's citizens. Due to their belief that popular sovereignty is necesary for non-domination, republicans have historically opposed membership in international organizations like the Majatran Alliance or the Majatran Union of Nations, due to what they saw as the dispersal of sovereignty among competing and incomplete polities, the potential for domination by strong states, corporations, or individuals, and the lack of a unified public sphere under popular sovereignty capable of fostering relations of non-domination.
Variants[]
As a diverse ideology, Selucian republicanism has several branches, some on the left and some on the right of the political spectrum.
Hosian democratic republicanism[]
Historically the largest school of thought within Selucian republicanism has been Hosian democratic republicanism, combining the tenets of left-leaning Hosian Democracy with republican ideology. Hosian democratic republicans emphasize distributism and subsidiarity, which they see as perfectly consistent with the understanding of freedom as non-domination. The school of thought believes that there is scriptural justification for the understanding of liberty as non-domination and for the implementation of an economy based on widespread property ownership, solidarity, and compassion for the poor, and for a political system rooted in pluralism, a separation of Church and State, and civic virtue. Drawing on Church tradition and the writings of Church Fathers on the cardinal virtue of justice, Hosian democratic republicans believe that civic virtue is the disposition to direct the acts of virtues towards the common good of society. Hosian democratic republicanism is usually considered a centrist ideology.
Traditional republicanism[]
The most traditional branch of Selucian republicanism is Traditional republicanism. Supporting a mixed constitution, the school of thought is the closest to traditional classical republicanism. Traditional republicans support a constitutional monarchy and political rights for the aristocracy, and are wary of the "tyranny of the majority" and what they see as the populist streak in other republican schools of thought. Instead, believing that most citizens would not have sufficient knowledge, resources, or even interest to be actively and daily involved in politics, they believe that in a well-ordered Republic only the politically virtuous elite should have the right to decide on the ruling of the Republic, and therefore they promote suffrage limitations based on income, land holding, education, voluntary military service, or some combination of these. Traditional republicanism is usually considered the most right-wing of Selucian republican schools of thought.
Social republicanism and Labor republicanism[]
The most left-wing branch of Selucian republicanism, even incorporating elements of Anarchist and Metzist thought, is Social republicanism. Social republicans call for not only a political republic, but also a "Social Republic", one that is committed to ending all forms of attack on public autonomy, not just in terms of formal state power, but also in what concerns the markets, bureaucracies, inequalities of income, and all forms of colonial domination. Social republicans believe that public autonomy requires not only civic participation in formal politics, but also the organization of autonomous counter-publics through the establishment of popular assemblies, workers’ councils, and traditional self-governance practices. Social republicans also believe that public autonomy needs to be defended in economic terms through the establishment of an economic democracy based on egalitarian cooperative economics and a "solidarity economy". A subgroup of Social republicanism is Labor republicanism, a version of Selucian republican ideology that believes wage labor needs to be abolished and replaced with a "Cooperative Commonwealth", and with close ties to the labor movement.
Green republicanism[]
Green republicans believe that one of the core republican ideas is that humanity is vulnerable and radically dependent on ecological balances. They argue that non-domination can be achieved not only through civic engagement but also through the provision of public goods that ensure that no individual can be dominated by the state, the market, or other individuals. Green republicans are particularly critical of consumerism and commodification, arguing that consumerism restricts rather than enhances freedom of choice. Green republicans are more open to pluralism than other Selucian republican schools of thought, believing that, as long as demands for justice are satisfied, different conceptions of the good life can and should co-exist within a Green Republic, while also promoting lifestyles based on sobriety and social and political participation.
Populist republicanism[]
Populist republicanism believes that that in a liberal democracy elected officials and wealthy private individuals form a distinct aristocratic layer with its own political and economic obligations. Populist republicans believe that the emergence of elites is inevitable in any political system, and that left to their own devices elites will seek their own selfish interests to the detriment of the public good. Populist republicans believe that, instead of aiming to abolish elites, they should be controlled by the common people through "ferocious populism", embracing and constitutionalizing class struggle as an institutional feature of the Republic. Populist republicans believe that, unless they are afraid for their own lives, elites will inevitably subvert the public good, and for this reason they have called for political trials of wealthy and powerful individuals at the hands of representatives of the lower classes, with death as the ultimate punishment for unruly elites. Unlike other strands of Selucian republican thought, Populist republicans look back at the intense class struggle that characterised most of the history of the First Republic as a positive feature of its political system, crediting it for forcing the patrician elites to focus on the public good and establishing political institutions designed to defend the political liberties of the plebs.