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Hello Friends, and Party Colleagues

This will be the longest article I have ever written in-game so please take the time to read it thoroughly. I come to you today to urge you to vote on a change to the SFP constitution. I, as well as many other active members of the party think that it is time for a fundamental change in the way the party operates. Before I analyze the changes and systematically break them down I would like to voice the concerns I had when thinking through the problem and when considering the past few months of gameplay in the party.

My first major concern was a general loss in membership and a lack of retention on behalf of the past administration as well as the PTO of the one before that. Many believe that the loss in membership was due to the disintegration of party structure after the days following that election with many members of the party leaving until the storm died down so to speak as well as a combination of fleeing accomplices at the end of the term who were either strategically placed in the party for long periods of time or who were recruited from among our ranks and others. I agree with this analysis and for that reason, some of my concerns with the formation of a new constitution were largely security based as well retention based on behalf of our general community.

My second concern was that the change would be at least somewhat remnant of our party’s values and our political ideals. With one of the parties major influences, and longtime socialist pen-master RF Williams drafting the new document my concerns on this were largely extinguished, and I feel that the new work is reflective of our way of eLife.

And lastly, my third concern was that these changes would be pragmatic and that they would improve the structure of the party and its community. We will pick it apart in a moment but this last concern is contingent on a future in which this document has an effect on the procedure of how the party is run and what we make of it. And so in that regard, I am not sure a new constitution will have much effect if the people do not have a hand in authoring it and using it to its full potential.

One last thing before we begin, I want to again urge all members of the SFP to start thinking about what kind of community you want to see here at the party. The officials that you elected this term genuinely care about your experience with the game and our structure depends on what you want to see written, voted on, and done. You have a voice and it needs to be heard.


Bear with me, this next part will be confusing and long but I will break it down as best I can. Don’t hesitate to ask questions.



The first part of the new constitution reads:


Part I: SOCIALIST FREEDOM PARTY



1. The name of the Socialist Freedom Party celebrates what the Party aspires to. The Party seeks to challenge the standard capitalistic and nationalistic game model by playing with an alternative social ecology.

The SFP is happy to be both socialist and anarchist, to celebrate both social solidarity and individual freedom. It is a leftist e-party that welcomes a wide spectrum of left-wing perspectives on revolutionizing eRepublik.

The SFP seeks to challenge the built-in capitalistic and nationalistic game model by playing with an alternative social ecology. It is committed to encouraging the representation of the voices of working class players, national minorities, women and revolutionary thinkers of all kinds within the game world.


As opposed to the first line of the current SFP constitution which reads:


Part I: Leadership and Governance
Section 1: Governance

1. The Party shall be governed by the Revolutionary Committee of the SFP.

2. The Party President (PP) is the Chair of the Revolutionary Committee (RC).



Whereas the current constitution digs right into the mechanics of the Revolutionary Committee and the Party President the new constitution will start by explaining the party’s values and general mission which in itself has changed over the years. I feel that this is a fresh rehashing of our goals and I have yet to see any objections to it. The mission of the party is to challenge the far right aspects of the conventional way the game is played. The Socialist Freedom Party is essentially anti-nationalist and anti-capitalist and we are the community that looks to find alternatives to that mode of gameplay in whatever forms we can think of. Also almost more importantly the new constitution acknowledges and attempts to unite both the socialists and the anarchists of the party under a common goal of solidarity and political union.



The second part of the new constitution is pretty long and all-encompassing and reads:


Part II: GENERAL MEMBERSHIP and REVOLUTIONARY COMMITTEE




SELF-MANAGEMENT


1. The Party manages itself using democratic and syndicalist methods to maximize participation while guarding against hostile take-overs and other annoying shenanigans.

2. The Party promotes and recommends the anarcho-syndicalist way of self-organizing as a fun and useful way to engage with the eRepublik community, both nationally and internationally.


GENERAL MEMBERSHIP


3. The Party is founded on the concept of an active, self-governing General Membership. Party members are encouraged to bring a socialist-freedom spirit and practice to all aspects of game life.

The unique rights of Socialist Freedom Party members are:

a. To actively participate in all Party-sponsored programs and initiatives.

b. To vote in internal party primary poll for Country President endorsement.

c. To vote in party primary poll for ranking of Congressional candidates.

d. To vote in party elections for 6 at-large voting members of the Revolutionary Committee.

e. To participate in an internal preference poll for Chair of the Revolutionary Committee / President of the SFP.



RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERS


4. It is the responsibility of Party members to embody in their gameplay the free and open social ecology of the Socialist Freedom Party. Power to the people! Live free or die! Stick it to the man!

This means playing the game with a free spirit, encouraging honest and open dialogue, lending a hand, helping other players to do well, playing honorably, and bringing a revolutionary sense of humor into this mess. Such a style of play celebrates having a diverse community of players, tends towards opposing toxic masculinity and narrow nationalism, and offers a bright, playful resistance to the nastiest kind of fun-smashing e-Nazi-psycho-trolls and other assorted right-wing wing-nuts, bonzos, bampots, and fart-boxing cumsplat numpties.

In short, it means doing your level best to craft a rich attitude of critical thinking and fun game play that expresses a liberationist aesthetic, without falling into bossiness, boorishness and banality.



MEMBERSHIP DISCIPLINE


"Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice:
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment." -- Bill S.



5. No special tasks are required for being a member of the Socialist Freedom Party. Members are free to participate as fully or in as limited a way in Party activities as they like. However, certain privileges can be temporarily lost.

a. If six members of the Revolutionary Committee agree to recommend censuring a Party member, then they can put forward the case and an open poll is taken of the General Membership. If a majority vote "Aye" on the censure motion, then voting and participation rights of the censured individual are revoked for a period of no more than 4 weeks.

b. Basic censure means no participation in Party-sponsored activities including no voting in internal Party polls. A censure motion may include recommendations for additional measures, such as being blocked from discussion or forum threads.

c. A censure motion needs to identify specific ways in which the individual has consistently broken the rules of the game or damaged the reputation or cohesion of the community around the SFP. A censure proceeding should be a good lesson for the entire party, not simply an act of punishment.

In all cases, dialog is preferred over censure. Censure is not for just smacking someone upside the head for making a single mistake.

d. There is no such thing as permanent censure. Censure is intended mainly to help resolve contradictions amongst the people, to advance the revolutionary cause, not to eliminate dissent or eliminate enemies.

e. Speaking of which. Egregious and constant attacks against the SFP by enemy agents should be handled by sending the exposed anti-people element, after a swift trial that exposes their crimes, to an e-forced-re-education mental hospitality suite and then a reform-through-labor summer camp until such time as their defective bourgeois-imperialist thinking has been thoroughly repaired. Summary execution is also an option in terminal cases. Though it is not quite clear just yet how this would work in an eRepublikan context, the revolutionary players will no doubt find creative ways to express it should the need arise. (See PART IV on INTERPRETATION.)



REVOLUTIONARY COMMITTEE


6. The day-to-day organization of the Party is facilitated by the Revolutionary Committee (RC) of the Socialist Freedom Party. The Revolutionary Committee is tasked with promoting, leading, protecting, empowering and enlivening the SFP community and the e-global anarcho-syndicalist movement of which the SFP is the dynamic turbo-charger.

The Revolutionary Committee is an engine of activity. It is neither a legislative nor a governing body. It is an organization of militants, of leaders, of doers, of professional revolutionaries. It is the center ring of the SFP circus.


The RC of the SFP is organized as follows:

a. Except under dire circumstances, the in-game-elected Party President (PP) is the Chair of the Revolutionary Committee.

b. Including the Chair, the Committee has a total of eleven voting members.

c. In order to qualify for participation in the internal party primary for PP, candidates for Chair of the RC must announce their selections for voting RC members (their "cabinet") as part of their campaign. The four in-game Party-level cabinet members appointed by the in-game Party President are the Chair's four appointed voting members of the RC.

d. As part of the monthly run-up to electing the Chair, the General Membership elects six additional voting members of the Revolutionary Committee.

e. The Revolutionary Committee may have as many additional non-voting members as desired.


Votes of the RC should not be some kind of officious undertaking. The RC is about doing much more so than deciding. If RC members spend most of their time voting on stuff, something is amiss. A bourgeois-bureaucratic mindset is creeping in. Or somebody is up to no good. A cultural revolution is probably needed to expose and drive out the capitalist-roaders. Or at least some new acts are needed in the center ring.

Discussion and debate and communication are necessary. Consensus is a good thing. Voting helps to prevent analysis-paralysis and move things to action. But post-action analysis is just as important as "deciding" and "predicting" and "commanding" before-hand. Understanding what actually works is better than having theories. Training folks how to catch the trapeze is more important than telling them they have to catch it.


Revolutionary leaders should be spending most of their time doing stuff, like managing and running programs or taking individual actions to do things like:

- Build up the members' strength training
- Provision houses inexpensively
- Pool resources in order to supply members with food and weapons
- Train members in how to conduct international diplomacy
- Prepare members for serving in Congress
- Teach new players the fundamentals of the game
- Creating a lively and entertaining press
- Promote other left-wing parties nationally and internationally
- Bringing a sense of art, song and poetry into the game
- Teach and learn the intricacies of game mechanics
- Investigate and experiment with economic alternatives
- Exposing multi's and other dishonest game play
- Bring people together in new and interesting ways



TITLES, DEPARTMENTS, PROGRAMS


7. Leaving aside the in-game titles, there are no permanent titles or departments defined within the Party other than being a Party Member and being a voting or non-voting member of the Revolutionary Committee.

The Revolutionary Committee is not an exclusive club. Any member of the Party may forward a proposal to the RC, or, indeed, initiate an action or program on behalf of the Party that is in keeping with its general orientation.

Such individual initiatives should be critiqued, opposed and curtailed only if they are causing obvious harm. And of course silly ideas, mistakes, bad jokes, errors in judgement and so forth are a normal part of game play, not things that deserve "legal measures" and whatnot.

There will be and should be any number of initiatives, both some organized by the RC and some initiated by individual Party members or groups of members. The role of the RC is to facilitate, encourage, advise, and promote such activity, while, of course, watching out for and exposing devious capitalist monkeyshines. It is not the job of the leaders to micro-manage and approve everything going on in and around every ring of the socialist-freedom community.


The Chair of the RC and the most active members of the Revolutionary Committee should make it their duty to see to it that, minimally, the Party is engaged in the following areas:

a. Congressional elections.

b. Press presence.

c. Membership solidarity, training, material support.

d. International communications and friendship.

In particular, the RC should see to it that 1 or 2 members are representing the Socialist Freedom Party at the e-Internationale or similar groupings of left-wing parties internationally.



HOSTILE TAKE OVERS, RESIGNATIONS, and SPECIAL ELECTIONS


8. Should a hostile group succeed in taking the in-game Party Presidency, the Party's General Membership shall continue to be guided in revolutionary activity by the previous Revolutionary Committee, which shall be referred to during the time of Occupation as the Provisional Revolutionary Committee (PRC), until such time as the hostiles are either driven out or voted out.

a. Should the duly elected PP/Chair of the RC resign early, then the most senior member of the RC (longest in the Party) shall become the Chair of RC, regardless of who is the in-game PP. The Chair should seek to work closely with the interim PP, if at all possible, but it is the Chair of the RC, not the interim PP, who shall be recognized as the leader of the revolutionary forces.

b. If a voting member of the RC leaves the Party permanently, or announces that they have left the game and has done so, or announces that they have resigned from the Revolutionary Committee, then the General Membership shall conduct an in-party poll, within 5 days of confirmation that the comrade is lost, to replace them until the next regular round of RC elections.

c. If a majority of voting members of the RC determine that a member of the RC is inactive or has failed to uphold the principles of the SFP or to act in a manner suitable to a revolutionary leader, they may be removed from the RC by a majority vote of the Revolutionary Committee. Such vacancies shall be filled by a vote of the General Membership, as noted above.




As opposed to the second part of the current constitution:



Section 2: Leadership

1. The PP shall be elected by democratic vote, as determined by the eRepublik game mechanism for Party elections held on the 15th of each month.

2. Should the in-game vote result in a hostile Party takeover, the election shall be considered null and void. In that case, the Party will be governed exclusively by the previously seated Revolutionary Committee (RC), with all presidential powers to be wielded by the person previously elected by the RC to be its Chair.

3. Should the duly elected PP resign before the regular term of office ends, he or she shall be succeeded by the most senior member of the RC. Actions or decisions of the "Party President" according to the game mechanics, whether that person is a supporter of the RC or not, shall have no binding authority.

4. The most senior member of the RC shall be the member with the most continuous experience of serving on the committee.

5. The PP may hold other on-going leadership roles in the Socialist Freedom Party, SFP Bear Cavalry or any other SFP-sponsored or -affiliated institutions while he or she is Chair of the RC. Holding such roles should be affirmed by a majority vote of the RC on each such role.

6. The preference is for such roles to be assigned to other Party members during the PP's term as Chair of the RC.



Breaking down the current constitution it outlines how the Party President should be elected via democratic vote as is game mechanics on the date it takes place. It then goes on to explain that in the event of a PTO the election is to be considered null and void and the previously seated Revolutionary Committee is to exclusively govern the party with the chair being the acting Party President. Next it then says that if a Party President resigns before the end of the term then the most senior member of the RC is to assume the position. Elaborating on that, it goes on to say the most senior member of the RC is the member with the most experience on the committee. (5) explains that the Party President can hold other ongoing leadership roles granted a majority vote by the RC. And Lastly (6) elaborates further explaining that these roles are preferably assigned to other party members during the term.

Comparing this to the proposed constitution we can see that the very first line of the new constitution is entitled “Self-Management and bites right into the issue of PTO’s and looks to thwart these attempts using democracy and worker solidarity through syndicalism, while also maximizing participation and retention. The second line then goes onto explain that the party endorses Anarcho-Syndicalist approaches to self organization nationally and internationally.

The next section is called General Membership and explains that the party has been founded on the concept of an active and self governing membership and goes on to list the unique rights of every member of the party. These include:

a. To actively participate in all Party-sponsored programs and initiatives.

b. To vote in internal party primary poll for Country President endorsement.

c. To vote in party primary poll for ranking of Congressional candidates.

d. To vote in party elections for 6 at-large voting members of the Revolutionary Committee.

e. To participate in an internal preference poll for Chair of the Revolutionary Committee / President of the SFP.


After that the next section is called the responsibility of membership and describes the responsibilities of being a member and explains that members should express themselves and to keep a vibrant community.

The new constitution goes on to the next section called Membership Discipline where after a quick quote explains no special tasks are required for being a member of the Socialist Freedom Party. It then explains that members are free to conduct their own endeavors but that certain privileges can be lost. (a) (b) (c) (d) and (e) of this section explain these conditions.


The next section is called Revolutionary Committee and it breaks down how the party is run by this working group and describes the Revolutionary Committee as an engine for activity domestically and abroad. (a) - (e) of this section explain how the Revolutionary Committee functions. It then explains what the roles of Revolutionary Leaders should be, promotes consensus democracy, anti-bureaucratic sentiments and then expresses the need for pragmatism and adherence to game mechanics and a thorough evaluation of the consequences of the Revolutionary Committees actions individually and as a whole.

The next section is called Titles, Departments, Programs and deals with the aforementioned subjects. It first lays out that the fundamental titles of the party and explains that any others are void. Afterword it says that the Revolutionary Committee is not an exclusive club and that any member is allowed to make proposals for new programs and many other matters. It then says, only initiatives that are causing obvious harm and destruction of the community are to be ridiculed and silly ideas are a common occurrence in-game. It then makes a point to root out capitalist detrimentalists who look to abuse the party and then lastly explains the RC’s obligations to be active in various issues in the game (a)-(d).


After that, the next section, Hostile Take-Overs, Resignations, and Special Elections explains in much greater and more secure detail the plans for such events previously named. All of the current constitution's protections from PTO’s are included and have been expanded upon (a)-(c)



Part 3 of the New Constitution reads:




Part III: VOTING and NOMINATIONS



CP NOMS


1. Country President Nominations

a. The Party President shall nominate or endorse eUSA Country President (CP) candidates based on the results of a General Party Membership poll conducted on the SFP Forum in the week prior to elections. CP elections are held on the 5th of each month. Results of the Party CP Primary should be concluded no later than the first day of each month.

b. The Revolutionary Committee may propose endorsing a Presidential candidate to the Party, or running a candidate from the SFP. But a full membership internal poll must still be held to endorse a CP nominee, even if there is one who is a member of the SFP, or who has been recommended by the RC.

c. It is not mandatory that the SFP endorse a nominee for CP. The poll should always include the choice "None of the above" as an option.



CONGRESS NOMS


2. Congress Elections

a. If the SFP is not a Top 5 party, SFP candidates for Congress must temporarily join a Top 5 party in order to run for Congress. In that situation, the Revolutionary Committee shall engage the Top 5 parties in order to ensure slots for SFP candidates and shall assist SFP members seeking election.

b. If the SFP is a Top 5 party, then the Party President is required, with assistance if needed, to put forward a list of Congressional candidates ranked according to results on an internal poll of the General Assembly.

c. After the new SFP Chairman is in office (17th of the month), s/he or a representative from the SFP Revolutionary Committee should open a Call for Congress Candidates in the SFP Forum, and communicate this to the membership.

Interested SFP members should answer this Call by stating is desire to be a Congress candidate, declaring their intention both by using the in-game mechanism and by having their name added to the internal poll.

Candidates should campaign for the Congressional primary, providing a manifesto on why Party members should vote for him/her and why the SFP should be represented in Congress.

On the 20th of every month, the Congressional Candidates call thread should be locked and a new thread opened for internal primary voting on the candidates. The Congressional Primary will last until the 23rd of the month.

Party members vote for a maximum of five candidates in the primary.

At the conclusion of the polling, the SFP President/RC Chair or an authorized representative of the SFP Revolutionary Committee will tally the total votes for each candidate and rank the results. Ties are broken by counting in-game amount of congressional medals, with the candidate holding the fewer amount of congressional medals ranked first. If this measure won't be sufficient then the RC Chair breaks the tie.

RC Chair ranks the candidates in-game according to the results of the primary vote. Failure to follow the results of the internal pool is a serious breach of responsibilities.

The RC Chair may negotiate with external parties to include 6th Party candidates on the SFP ballot. Such arrangement should be agreed to by the voters on the Revolutionary Committee before the 23rd, and such candidates are included on the internal poll. No one is guaranteed a specific slot on the in-game list.



RC NOMS


3. Revolutionary Committee Elections

Party President elections occur in-game on the 15th of each month.

Two internal primary polls of the General Membership is concluded by the 13th of each month for:

- The Chair of RC and his/her slate of voting RC members, which is the same as their 4-person "cabinet" of Party-level roles. This is basically a "popularity contest" regarding the upcoming in-game Party President election.

- Six additional voting members of the Revolutionary Committee. This is a binding poll, with no in-game equivalent.


Candidates for Chair of the RC (Party President) should announce their intention, along with their "cabinet" selections, no later than the 8th of the month. Obviously they should also register as PP candidate in-game.

Members of the Party can announce their own candidacy for voting RC membership ("The Six"), or can nominate other Party members. The list of all those nominated should be closed by the 10th of the month. Members who have been nominated by the PP candidate as appointed voting members should also be included on the polling for the Six additional voting members of the RC. Should their sponsor win the in-game election for PP, then their names are stricken from the final results for the additional Six. Should their sponsor lose the in-game election for PP, then they are treated like any other candidates in the polling for the Six additional members.

Discussion, debate, campaigning, manifestos and so forth for the revolutionary leadership should be shared and published. The two RC polls open on the 10th and close on the 14th:

a. Preference poll for Chair of the Revolutionary Committee and their slate of voting RC members. All non-censured Party members may participate. This can be either an open or closed poll. If it is a secret ballot, then it should be conducted by a well-trusted forum admin.

b. Election poll by list for 6 additional voting RC members is handled similarly to the Congressional candidates polling. Each non-censured Party member may vote for up to 6 folks from the list of nominees. An authorized representative of the RC tallies the votes and ranks the results. Ties go to players who have served on the RC fewer times.



As opposed to the Current Constitution’s Part 3:




Part III Powers of the Membership

Section 13: Democracy and Voluntarism

Sub-section 13.1: Voting and Direct Action

1. The Revolutionary Committee and Revolutionary Volunteers serve the international e-working class and the Socialist Freedom Party membership as a whole.

2. The Socialist Freedom Party is a grassroots-democratic organization that encourages individual initiative on behalf of its collective goals.

3. Majority voting is one method of inner-party democracy. The RC and the SFP uses majority voting -- not consensus -- to make decisions, as needed, as a pragmatic method. There is more to democracy than voting. Majority votes shall not be used to suppress minority views. All Party members shall be free to contribute their ideas, take initiative on behalf of the Party and act as Volunteers, whether members of the RC or not.

4. Party members who hold a minority view on any matter shall be respected and listened-to. While majority decisions are sometimes necessary to reach agreement on a plan of action, they do not imply the need for Party members to follow a centralist or authoritarian party line on all matters.

5. Although consensus, unity of action and unity of opinion are desirable, Party members are free to form working groups or affinity groups, and to initiate campaigns, organizations and tasks without approval from anyone. Such initiatives shall be criticized only if they do obvious harm to the Party or to the international e-proletariat.


Sub-section 13.2: Decisions

1. The Powers described in this section apply equally to anyone appointed to or who has volunteered to carry out a specific role on behalf of the Party, whether or not they are a member of the Revolutionary Committee.

2. Unless on a mission that requires otherwise, members of the RC must be a member of the Socialist Freedom Party, a member of a participating party of the Internationale, or a member of a Party that is collaborating with the SFP towards a specific goal, such as getting elected to Congress.

3. Any RC Member or Party Volunteer with responsibility for a particular campaign, project or organization -- including individual, working group or affinity group initiatives -- shall have decision-making jurisdiction over his or her area, except as noted above regarding disbursement of funds where an RC vote is required.

4. Specific directives or plans may be overridden or publicly criticized by a majority vote of the Revolutionary Committee or by an executive decision of the Chair.

5. An executive decision of the Chair may be countermanded by a majority vote of the RC within 48 hours.


Sub-section 13.3: Communications

1. Members of the RC or Volunteers with a leading responsibility shall be granted moderator status on the party sub-forums relevant to that area of work if so desired.

2. Each member of the RC or Volunteers with a leading responsibility shall provide briefings to the Revolutionary Committee upon initiation of, completion of, or when significant progress is made, or significant difficulties encountered in a major issue, project, or undertaking.

3. The Revolutionary Committee shall remain apprised of all communications between Socialist Freedom Party representatives and other parties, be they foreign or domestic, as well as communications with governmental officials, companies, and/or media.

4. The direct posting of the content of private messages is not permitted under eRepublik rules and it harms the ability to engage in free speech. If such correspondence falls within the purvey of items 2 and 3 above, then members of the RC shall provide summaries of messages sent and received, upon request of another member.

5. Members of the RC and Volunteers working on key projects shall notify the Revolutionary Committee of official communications so that summaries may be requested and provided.

6. Briefings and communication summaries may be provided over IRC, other messaging or chat media, forum Private Messages, eRepublik Private Messages, e-mail, the Revolutionary Committee sub-forum or in an other appropriate sub-forum.


Sub-section 13.4: Party Proposals

1. Party members are always free to start up and pursue Party work on their own initiative. A more formalized Party Proposal may also be put forward by any Party member in order to gain support for the initiative from the Party as a whole. In order to receive funding or political support from the RC, an initiative needs to be put forward as a Party Proposal.

2. Any Party member, be they a part of the RC or not, may put forward a Party Proposal.

3. A Party Proposal is defined as any change in or new policy or action that a member or supporter of the SFP believes that the Party should take.

4. Party Proposals are approved by a simple majority in a poll of the entire membership.

5. All Party Proposals must be a public poll, meaning all can see how others vote.

6. All Party Proposals must allow for at least 2 days of voting.

7. If three-quarters (3/4s) of the total party membership approves of a Proposal, then it can not be over-ruled by the RC.

8. The RC may overrule a Party Proposal if the motion to Overrule passes by a Solid Majority of the RC. The RC votes must be as follows for a Solid Majority:

• If the RC consists of 5 members then 3 must publicly vote against the proposal.

• If the RC consists of 6 members then 4 must publicly vote against the proposal.

• If the RC consists of 7 members then 5 must publicly vote against the proposal.

• If the RC consists of 8 members then 6 must publicly vote against the proposal.

• If the RC consists of 9 members then 7 must vote publicly against the proposal.



The current constitution in Part 3 breaks down the mechanics of the RC and several special case scenarios. It also explains communication, decision making, and the way voting is to be conducted. This is one part of the constitution that I think needs to be double checked and brought onto the new draft of the constitution if it is missing any of this information. From what I can tell most of this is covered in Part 2 in the New Constitution.

Breaking down the new constitution further Part 3 consists of the rules for voting, nominations, and elections and explains lots of special cases and potential obligations. There are several major changes here and I’d really like RF Williams to break this part down further so I hope that if he reads this he will give us his thoughts on this section or we can discuss it below.


Moving on to Part 4, here is what the New Constitution says:




Part IV: AMENDMENT and INTERPRETATION



RATIFICATION of AMENDMENTS


The Constitution of the SFP is a guide to activity and an insurance policy against waggishness and foul play. It is not intended to be a detailed guide to every aspect of play and it should not be modified willy-nilly.

a. Significant changes to this Constitution require ratification by 2/3 majority in a fair referendum vote of the General Membership, which is defined as follows:

i. Referendum is conducted openly, such as on a forum or in-game message board (or both) where "Ayes" and "Nays" are recorded and reported for each voter.
ii. Only those who are Party members when the referendum is formally announced may vote. No parachuting into the SFP just to vote on the Constitution.
iii. Referendum is announced and text of proposed changes is circulated at least one week prior to commencement of referendum.
iv. Polling is open for a minimum of 3 days and is announced and promoted in-game.
v. Total number of members voting on a Constitutional amendment must be at least number of voting membership of the RC, plus one. Otherwise referendum results are voided.
vi. Of those voting, 2/3rds or more must vote "Aye" for the significant Constitutional Amendment to pass.

b. Amendments aimed at simple, minor re-wording of any part of the Constitution may be proposed by voting RC members and must be approved by a majority of the voting members of the Revolutionary Committee in an open poll, with results recorded and reported. Any such changes to the Constitution must be recorded in the official version of the Constitution and announced to the entire Party membership.

c. The official version of the Constitution is stored as an HTML file on the SFP forum. No change is recognized until it is published in this file.


SCHOOLS of INTERPRETATION


"An unweeded garden goes to seed." -- Bill S.


There is a place for interpretations of the Constitution, for legal opinions, for silly opinions, for scholarly exegeses, deconstructions, elaborations and arguments. Even better are good jokes, stand-up routines, awesome memes, and clever and creative readings dealing with how to put it into practice. Epic song cycles, inspirational street murals, and creative flash-mob dance routines depicting the spirit of the Constitution as applied to the concrete conditions of eRepublik at a particularly instructive historical juncture are also rather delightful.

None of that requires modifying the Constitution. Creating a rich tradition in e-literature of such schools of interpretations is, on the other hand, a consummation devoutly to be wished.



As opposed to the Current Constitution’s Part 4 and 5:




Part IV: Democratic Rights and Political Strategy

1. The Ten Points of Solidarity appended to this Constitution express the general political orientation of the Socialist Freedom Party with respect to democratic and civil rights.

2. The following three sections define the overall political strategy of the Socialist Freedom Party for promoting revolutionary freedom for the individual player within a framework of social solidarity. Implementing specific initiatives within these three strategic goals is the responsibility of the Revolutionary Committee, with participation and oversight from the Party as a whole.


Section 14: Domestic Revolution and Solidarity

1. Recruitment of new players and those bored with capitalist shenanigans into the socialist freedom movement.

2. Mentoring and training of new players. Development, strengthening, education and training of Party members and friends and allies of the Party.

3. Promotion, support and organizing of a progressive and revolutionary political culture in the eUSA. This includes, but is not limited to, election of members of the Socialist Freedom Party to Congress. It also includes media work and collaboration with like-minded forces on areas of common interest, both within and outside of Government structures and institutions.

4. Exposure of capitalist crimes and the promotion of a lively and fearless media in the eUSA.

5. Promotion and explanation of anarcho-syndicalist policies and programs, based on the Constitution, Program and Principles of the Socialist Freedom Party in the eUSA.

6. Participating in tactical and strategic alliances, when merited, with other eUSA parties and organizations, or with campaigns initiated by other forces, when it will advance the cause of the e-working class.

7. Encouraging and training both newer players and friends of the SFP in game mechanics and in the spirit and programs of the SFP.

8. Coordinating with the Party's economic and international efforts to advance these aims.


Section 15: International Revolution and Solidarity

1. Active participation in internationalist efforts to promote workers' freedoms and the dignity of nations and individuals throughout the New World, such as the Internationale.

2. Support for the defense and liberation of small and oppressed e-nations.

3. Opposition to e-Imperialism in all of its forms.

4. Material, political and military support for revolutionary e-nations and other far-left parties who share the SFP's vision of freedom and solidarity.

5. Material support for grassroots democracy in all spheres, including the development of worker-managed communes and cooperatives internationally.

6. Participating in tactical and strategic alliances, when merited, with parties and organizations internationally when it will advance the cause of the international e-working class, including support for campaigns initiated by other groups.

7. Coordinating with the economic and domestic efforts of the Party to advance these aims.


Section 16: Economic Revolution and Solidarity

1. Promoting, developing and managing autonomous and member-managed alternatives to e-capitalist economic structures within the New World.

2. Encouraging and promoting social solidarity, both nationally and internationally, through economic collaboration.

3. Providing the material basis to promote revolutionary domestic and international economic practices that benefit individual freedom and collective progress.

4. Finding ways to support and encourage working class and impoverished players by outflanking the capitalist game model.

5. Promoting the study, analysis and development of anarcho-syndicalist theories of e-political economy.

6. Coordinating with the domestic and international efforts of the Party to advance these aims.


Part V: Ratification and Amendment

1. The Constitution requires ratification by 2/3 majority of active members and may be amended by the same.

2. Amendments aimed at minor re-wording of any part of the Constitution may be proposed by an RC member and must be approved by a simple majority of the Revolutionary Committee.



Part 4 and 5 of the current constitution explain the rights and political strategy of the party as well as ratification of amendments and don’t differ all that much from a lot of the sentiments throughout the new constitution. The new constitution however further elaborates on the rules of amending the constitution and gives rise to the idea of schools of thought in the party.



Summary


Overall I really enjoy the writings of RF Williams. I might even say that he is one of my favorite writers in this game and I can tell that the production of this document took a long time and his colorful words make it an interesting read. These documents widely differ in their internal structures. For instance the current constitution has an extra part in it and many more major points that may have been left out, however the new constitution has several very good elaborations and extra checks. I do think that the current constitution is very mechanical and in that sense is very straight to the point in a way that this document tries hard to emulate and for some I could see how this could be a turn off to the idea of passing this but I feel at the most it only needs to be revised. I may write another article soon comparing exactly what has been left out or what should be added in the event that this doesn’t pass and we need to re propose it. Please let me know what your thoughts are and if you have made it this far I thank you very much for reading.


Lastly, here's a link to vote on the ratification the New Constitution: http://sfp-erep.forumotion.com/t1426-votenew-constitution

Please vote, you are the voices of the party!

-Max