Below are a few things that I consider to be value-conclusions underpinning any future system I might approve of, be it organisation or state/society:
- Honesty - The system should seek to inspire honesty in all its participants, and except in rare circumstances, high levels of transparency. When transparency is not possible, refusals to comment should occur rather than dishonesty. Cases where refusal to comment would reveal the secret should give up whatever else is at stake in the refusal to comment.
- Thoughtfulness - The system should not depend on people not thinking deeply about the whole system. The system should not discourage people from sharing their thoughts with others, from conversations to publications, even if the system is presently or fundamentally opposed to changes opposed.
- Purposeful - The system should have its own purpose/aims (and sources of purpose/aims) and guard them against influence from outside forces. If the system, for example, functions in a democratic nature, it should ensure that its purposes come from the Demos, and not from organised business. This ensurance should include buffers beyond what is strictly needed in order to prevent erosion of purpose through bending of rules.
- Non-worshipful - The system should never create a cult of personality, and guardians of the system should always, publically and personally, recognise that even if they have good judgement, they may be wrong on particular matters. Purpose should be based on philosophy, not people (and ideally not parties/groups within the greater whole). On a larger scale, even the greater system should come secondary to its goals.
- Aware of Opponents - The system should be aware of those who oppose its purpose and be willing to oppose them. Cooperation with other systems should be dictated by pragmatism (guarded by an awareness of the nature of ideological corruption).
- Aware of Internal Threats - People with the wrong personality or opposing goals should be excluded from any positions of resonsibility as early as possible
- Scientific - Scientific accuracy should not be manipulated for political ends, even if it serves a "greater good" - there are no greater goods than truth and science.
- Nonclannish - Personal ties should never decide positions in the system. Measures against this (e.g. banning related or romantically involved people from serving in government without a several-years gap in time) do less harm than too few measures against this.
