Frelune
17-11-2005, 18:56
A History of Violence
Considering the country's ignoble beginnings, one finds it difficult to be surprised at their current method of non-governance. Frelune was founded as a penal colony for Chinese dissidents, ruled over sharply by the Warden-Kings, who treated the land as their own personal fiefdom. There were never enough Wardens, though, to keep true order, so, as in most prisons, a unique code of social interaction amongst the prisoners kept the system from breaking out into total chaos.
Chaos, though, would be an accurate description of the colony. The prisoners had no laws to follow, as the only official crime was "Treason against the Wardens". Many of them were illiterate, at any rate, and would have had no use for a codified system of laws as exists in most countries. Rather, these inmates worked everything out informally amongst themselves. Murder? Theft? Arson? All justifiable, under some circumstances. When they weren't, the offender was dispatched remorselessly; even a prison society has no use for societal parasites. Occasionally, a respected member of the community would be asked to judge over a particular act of vigilantism. In such cases, the judge would be agreed upon by both parties, but need have no other qualifications.
An outsider would notice little change in the system since the Great Revolt, except that the citizens are now more affluent as they keep the products of their labor. On the inside, though, these people are proud of their new freedom, such that it is.
On Elections and Government
I have often been asked, "What is it, exactly, that these people are voting on? Their leader is a first-class despot, and their citizenry is unable to affect her decisions in any way!" Such a question betrays both an ignorance of the internal politics of Frelune and a general bias in the media against the policies within.
The leader is a despot only in the sense that she alone decides where the money goes. Taxes tend to stay low, as the citizenry mostly work out disputes amongst themselves that would be settled by courts in more traditional locales, lowering the need for police. This system has been described, not entirely unfairly, as anarchy by most people. At any rate, the Least Free uses federal funds only in an emergency, with one exception: Frelune has the highest percentage of taxes of any country publishing these figures of money spent on education and technology. Nearly 60% of the meagre federal collection plate is spent on education, and over 20% of their earnings go to scientific funding.
So, back to the original question: what are they voting for? What does their Council do, exactly? Well, they do pass along recommendations for spending initiatives, but they have no power to force the Least Free to accept these. No, they have power in only one area: they act as a tribunal whenever the Least Free is assassinated. (To date, none of the Least Free have died of natural causes.) It is their job to determinewhether or not the assassin should be punished. In this way, they act as a check, not on her power, but on her decisions, as they can at any point pass a resolution declaring the Least Free unfit and state that her future assassin has their blessing. This would seem to contradict their strong stance on the rights of women, but ever since Frelune killed their colonial government, they've always viewed government officials with disdian and hatred. To be in government, as people not in government anywhere know, is to be a known liar and thief, and all government officials in Frelune know that their lives may be forfeit at any time.
...
So, if the Least Free is not selected by the people, and the position is not hereditary, how does one get to a position of such responsibility? Frelune has decided that "enlightened despotism" is the ideal to be strived for, so they have a battery of tests required for civil servants, much like their ancient Chinese ancestors. All of their regional governors are top scorers on this examiniation, and the highest scorer that accepts the position (and the unnatural death it usually implies) can become the Least Free. This appointment is irrevocable.
The Frelunians spend much effort revising the test. Indeed, the Least Free herself spends much time analyzing her prior decisions and including her mistakes and her triumphs on the test. The test is the culmination of all governmental knowledge, in a way: each year it gets longer and more difficult.
...
The Least Free, when not occupied with the demands of revising the test, spends most of her time listening to people. Anyone may formally request an audience of her, but, due to time constraints (as well as the general principle of letting people work it out for themselves), most of them are turned down. She hears only the more interesting disputes. She is the most respected of the informal judges, and her decisions form a sort of non-binding case law that others that find themselves often chosen as temporary judges usually attempt to follow.
On Gender
A large disparity between the percentages of men and women is perhaps the greatest destabilizing factor in Frelune today. Though the ratio has improved since free immigration began, there are still nearly nine men for every woman in the country. This has led to some awkward marriage customs that are unfortunately outside the scope of this novel. Even with arrangements that include multiple marriages, however, there are still large numbers of indigent single men that form up much like gangs in inner-city America. These unfortunates ignore custom and steal most of what they need to survive. The government hopes that immigration will eventually fix this problem.
...
There are few places in the world better to be a woman than in Frelune. The country has come a long way from its brutalizing past behavior. At the start of the colony, being sent to Frelune, if you were a woman, was a death sentence too horrific to imagine. However, the prisoners quickly realized that they could have more women if they were nice to the ones that went there, and a societal structure not too unlike the ancient idea of chivalry grew up about the few women that did end up there. In fact, the issue which torched off the Great Revolt was some alleged mistreatment of women by a few of the Wardens. The idea of harming a woman or forcing her into anything she doesn't want is so repugnant to the idea of most Frelunians that it is the only "crime" that has never been in a "trial": the criminal is invariably found the next day, beaten and tortured to death.
Similarly, a woman in this society is given much leeway that a man is not. Rare is the "judge" who would give a woman any punishment more severe than a small fine for an infraction. Most women live in a state of luxury from their many male benefactors, though they are given the freedom to work in any non-dangerous jobs they wish. It has been seaid that women are the ruling caste in Frelune, and, indeed, most of their governors and Least Free have been women in the brief time since their Revolt.
Considering the country's ignoble beginnings, one finds it difficult to be surprised at their current method of non-governance. Frelune was founded as a penal colony for Chinese dissidents, ruled over sharply by the Warden-Kings, who treated the land as their own personal fiefdom. There were never enough Wardens, though, to keep true order, so, as in most prisons, a unique code of social interaction amongst the prisoners kept the system from breaking out into total chaos.
Chaos, though, would be an accurate description of the colony. The prisoners had no laws to follow, as the only official crime was "Treason against the Wardens". Many of them were illiterate, at any rate, and would have had no use for a codified system of laws as exists in most countries. Rather, these inmates worked everything out informally amongst themselves. Murder? Theft? Arson? All justifiable, under some circumstances. When they weren't, the offender was dispatched remorselessly; even a prison society has no use for societal parasites. Occasionally, a respected member of the community would be asked to judge over a particular act of vigilantism. In such cases, the judge would be agreed upon by both parties, but need have no other qualifications.
An outsider would notice little change in the system since the Great Revolt, except that the citizens are now more affluent as they keep the products of their labor. On the inside, though, these people are proud of their new freedom, such that it is.
On Elections and Government
I have often been asked, "What is it, exactly, that these people are voting on? Their leader is a first-class despot, and their citizenry is unable to affect her decisions in any way!" Such a question betrays both an ignorance of the internal politics of Frelune and a general bias in the media against the policies within.
The leader is a despot only in the sense that she alone decides where the money goes. Taxes tend to stay low, as the citizenry mostly work out disputes amongst themselves that would be settled by courts in more traditional locales, lowering the need for police. This system has been described, not entirely unfairly, as anarchy by most people. At any rate, the Least Free uses federal funds only in an emergency, with one exception: Frelune has the highest percentage of taxes of any country publishing these figures of money spent on education and technology. Nearly 60% of the meagre federal collection plate is spent on education, and over 20% of their earnings go to scientific funding.
So, back to the original question: what are they voting for? What does their Council do, exactly? Well, they do pass along recommendations for spending initiatives, but they have no power to force the Least Free to accept these. No, they have power in only one area: they act as a tribunal whenever the Least Free is assassinated. (To date, none of the Least Free have died of natural causes.) It is their job to determinewhether or not the assassin should be punished. In this way, they act as a check, not on her power, but on her decisions, as they can at any point pass a resolution declaring the Least Free unfit and state that her future assassin has their blessing. This would seem to contradict their strong stance on the rights of women, but ever since Frelune killed their colonial government, they've always viewed government officials with disdian and hatred. To be in government, as people not in government anywhere know, is to be a known liar and thief, and all government officials in Frelune know that their lives may be forfeit at any time.
...
So, if the Least Free is not selected by the people, and the position is not hereditary, how does one get to a position of such responsibility? Frelune has decided that "enlightened despotism" is the ideal to be strived for, so they have a battery of tests required for civil servants, much like their ancient Chinese ancestors. All of their regional governors are top scorers on this examiniation, and the highest scorer that accepts the position (and the unnatural death it usually implies) can become the Least Free. This appointment is irrevocable.
The Frelunians spend much effort revising the test. Indeed, the Least Free herself spends much time analyzing her prior decisions and including her mistakes and her triumphs on the test. The test is the culmination of all governmental knowledge, in a way: each year it gets longer and more difficult.
...
The Least Free, when not occupied with the demands of revising the test, spends most of her time listening to people. Anyone may formally request an audience of her, but, due to time constraints (as well as the general principle of letting people work it out for themselves), most of them are turned down. She hears only the more interesting disputes. She is the most respected of the informal judges, and her decisions form a sort of non-binding case law that others that find themselves often chosen as temporary judges usually attempt to follow.
On Gender
A large disparity between the percentages of men and women is perhaps the greatest destabilizing factor in Frelune today. Though the ratio has improved since free immigration began, there are still nearly nine men for every woman in the country. This has led to some awkward marriage customs that are unfortunately outside the scope of this novel. Even with arrangements that include multiple marriages, however, there are still large numbers of indigent single men that form up much like gangs in inner-city America. These unfortunates ignore custom and steal most of what they need to survive. The government hopes that immigration will eventually fix this problem.
...
There are few places in the world better to be a woman than in Frelune. The country has come a long way from its brutalizing past behavior. At the start of the colony, being sent to Frelune, if you were a woman, was a death sentence too horrific to imagine. However, the prisoners quickly realized that they could have more women if they were nice to the ones that went there, and a societal structure not too unlike the ancient idea of chivalry grew up about the few women that did end up there. In fact, the issue which torched off the Great Revolt was some alleged mistreatment of women by a few of the Wardens. The idea of harming a woman or forcing her into anything she doesn't want is so repugnant to the idea of most Frelunians that it is the only "crime" that has never been in a "trial": the criminal is invariably found the next day, beaten and tortured to death.
Similarly, a woman in this society is given much leeway that a man is not. Rare is the "judge" who would give a woman any punishment more severe than a small fine for an infraction. Most women live in a state of luxury from their many male benefactors, though they are given the freedom to work in any non-dangerous jobs they wish. It has been seaid that women are the ruling caste in Frelune, and, indeed, most of their governors and Least Free have been women in the brief time since their Revolt.