The Civic Republican Charter

A political philosophy oriented around self-government, the prevention of domination, and the cultivation of public-spirited citizenship.

1. Freedom as Non-Domination

Liberty means more than the absence of interference: it is the absence of arbitrary power held over a person by another. A worker dependent on an abusive employer is not free even if no force is applied today.

2. Active Citizenship

Free institutions cannot be preserved by spectators. Citizens have a duty to inform themselves, participate in deliberation, hold office when called, and defend the constitution against threats both foreign and domestic.

3. Mixed Government

Concentrations of power in any branch or class are dangerous. The constitution must balance and check power — between branches, between levels, between rich and poor — so that no faction can dominate.

4. Civic Virtue

A republic depends on citizens who place the common good above narrow self-interest, at least in their role as citizens. Education, military service, and public deliberation cultivate this disposition.

5. Wealth and Liberty

Extreme inequalities of wealth are corrosive to liberty: they translate into dependence and political domination. The constitution must include limits — antitrust, anti-corruption rules, progressive taxation — to keep wealth from becoming power.

6. Anti-Corruption

A republic dies when officials serve private interests instead of the public. Procedures, transparency, and accountability are not bureaucratic niceties but the lifeblood of self-government.

7. Vigilance Against Demagogues

Charismatic leaders who claim to embody the people directly, who flatter resentments, who denigrate institutions and norms, are mortal threats to a republic. The first duty of free citizens is to recognize and resist them.