Minarchism -- the belief in solidarity between small monarchies, like Luxembourg, Monaco, Kuwait, or Andorra, against big bad republics like Germany, Iraq, or Italy
 
I probably should not have used such a vague (and historically problematic) term as "feudalism". I was just reminded of medieval Europe. By "modernised" I meant altered to be more in line with modern democratic values.

Anyway, the whole thing sounds quite interesting. Have you heard of the (apparently) real-world ideology of anarcho-monarchism? I wouldn't say that it is quite the same, but it is a similar concept, I think.
I see what you are saying, but I feel like this still has a standing government, just really small. It still has laws, too, just some things are legalised, but frowned upon.
 
Made a thread to explore a neopopulist synthesis if anyone is interested!

View attachment 740475
-I created this flag to represent my idea for a proposed synthesis of mutualism, Georgism and distributism. Aside from the fact the ideologies seem to fit together their color and animal symbolism complement each other nicely so I'm taking it as a sign.

Sorry for the title, I couldn't really figure out how I wanted to phrase what I'm laying out but I promise I'm not advocating for Clintonian triangulation 😅 I've been toying with an alternative political economy position to serve as a counter to neoliberalism and state capitalism, partially inspired by an infographic making the rounds that proposes a Georgist/Mutualist synthesis. Derived from Georgism, mutualism and distributism my proposed synthesis would theoretically revolve around land value taxation and an economic system favoring economic localism and cooperative businesses, possibly as a counter-economy existing alongside the current one.

View attachment 740476
-My primary issue with this is the extreme libertarianism that tends to infect modern Georgism, making this binary synthesis inadequate to my mind.

Neoliberalism is, I think most of us can agree, a hideous poison that's dissolving society in a sea of privatization even as that same unconscious drive to increase the efficiency and market access of capital erodes the very social foundation that the system depends on. The ideal producer-consumer, after all, is someone who works the maximum amount and spends all of their money on consumption, a combination which by definition prevents stable family formation. The fact that market forces select for this organically, without any individual or group at the top of the pyramid actively setting it as a goal only makes it worse, since the power of government to meaningfully impose on capital has been so thoroughly defanged that the idea that the state can actually do anything substantial to halt civic and social erosion is a pipe dream.

State capitalism suffers from much the same problem, burdened with increased inefficiency, since the global market forces continue to act on the national economy even as the actual top of the system is centered on an ecosystem of government ministries rather than competing companies. Living in the US I don't see the imposition of a state capitalist system on the horizon any time soon, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a competitive model on the world stage and should therefore be addressed. I would favor a greater role for labor in the American economy in the above-mentioned absence of state power but the sad fact is that labor unions are so anemic (as a result of internal flaws, external state opposition, and social factors) that the actual ability for organized labor to meaningfully improve conditions for itself is practically nonexistent.

Triangle_of_economic_systems.png

-Using the distributist political compass as our example (substituting "state capitalism" and "neoliberalism" for the incredibly vague "socialism" and "capitalism", respectively), both Georgism and mutualism would fit well within the third position.

Hence the synthesis. All three of the ideologies I sought to blend opposed monopolies and concentrated state and economic power and all three favored strengthening the community in one way or another.
  • Georgism supports the commons as the literal foundation of a just society, though George's calls for free or marginal cost utilities, the abolition of the patent system and the nationalization of natural monopolies like mass transit and communications infrastructure have been almost completely eroded by the focus on the "single tax" on unimproved land value as the only aspect of the ideology.
  • Both mutualism and distributism favor the development of cooperatives, though distributists are equally at peace with fostering individual smallholders and small to medium businesses. Distributism also has the benefit of actually tolerating the existence of the state and being willing to favor state intervention to curb the excesses of the market, though opposition to unions in favor of guilds would probably need to be modified or discarded. A mutualist focus on usufructs is also worth looking in to.
Under Mutual Geodistributism (I'm open to suggestions for a better name 😅) a Georgist tax on unimproved land value would be combined with pigovian taxes on things like environmental degradation and optionally sin taxes. These would form the majority of the tax system, with opposition to taxes on labor retained but taxes on capital structured to focus on the largest producers and economic monopolies rather than being eliminated entirely as under orthodox Georgism. Any surplus from this tax system would be disbursed to the public in the form of a universal basic income which, combined with socialized utilities, would vastly improve the stability of the individual, fostering family formation and personal happiness; improving social cohesion in the process.

Changes to the legal system to disincentivize absentee land ownership would further favor local control and economic activity, while the structuring of the tax system would foster the growth of small to medium sized businesses and worker-owned cooperatives. Given my above mentioned pessimism for the power of the state to actually intervene meaningfully in the economy I see this as an ideal end state, with a theoretical political movement working in the meantime toward local change through the creation of a network of credit unions, cooperatives and small businesses aligned with one another in a system of economic interconnection and mutual aid. In an extreme set of circumstances a complementary currency of one sort or another could be adopted to encourage this interconnection in the face of shocks in the wider economy.

These are just my rambling thoughts but I think the idea has promise and I'm open to your thoughts and input! In the meantime I included the write-ups for the component pieces from the Could-Have-Been Ideology thread:
 
True Russianism

DocBen

Banned
Inspired by Hyperborea and Kemerovo in the TNO timeline:

True Russianiam
The Ukrainian revolution shook the post Soviet territories, with it's ethnocentric, nationalistic, and anti Soviet sentiment. Although it was obviously a turning point in the history of Ukraine, at that time nobody thought that it would inspire similar movements in Russia, which would transform that country. The invasion of the Russian Federation into the Ukraine eventually degraded into a multi faction civil war in both of these countries, which eventually spilled over to the whole post Soviet territories, as competing warlords and parties fought one another for power. The movement that eventually won out emerged was the most bizarre of all.

Born of the existing Russian neopagan movement, and inspired by the ethnocentric, nationalistic, and anti Soviet former state of Ukraine, this ideology is called True Russianism. They are xenophobic not so much against foreigners, or non Slavic minorities of Russia, but against Russians who are not Russianized enough. Their definition of the "True Russian Culture" is pre-Peter the Great culture, the Kievan and Novgorodian Rus. They go about cleansing Russia of Soviet Union heritage and "foreign influences". They are anti cosmopolitan, anti Communist, anti Capitalist, anti atheist, and basically anti everything which was not invented in the medieval Russia.

The cultural police (who wear chain mail and carry real swords instead of rubber batons) enforces these policies, makes everyone wear embroidered robes and flower wreaths, and bans jeans, T shirts, baseball hats, and the like. The medieval Russian language is enforced as the only valid language in schools, and the "Soviet language" is banned. Verbal language tests keep the population in line, where a person may be randomly asked on the street to pronounce an ancient Russian word. The "Soviet" holidays are banned, and True Russian holidays are enforced. Like in OTL Iran, there is a strict dress code, for both women and men, to wear medieval looking Russian clothing. Many insufficiently Russianized buildings were demolished, including almost all of the Soviet apartment blocks. In their place were erected "True Russian" buildings, Tolkien-esque fairy tale architecture, made of wood or concrete imitations of wood, ornate to absurdity.

It's a weird kind of country, a mixture of North Korean hermit kingdom authoritarianism, and Amish self sufficient rural traditionalism, with an ancient Russian fairy tale aesthetic. All computers, televisions, and cars are banned, however refrigerators, tractors, sewing machines, diesel saws, and other tools which make life easier are allowed. There has been an effort to move people out of the cities into the country, and them demolishing the empty city buildings. "Urban culture" and "cosmopolitan culture" has been banned. Most of the population is now rural, living on self sufficient homesteads, as farmers. The people are allowed to own the land, and all mention of the collective farms of the Soviet period has been erased from the history books. Private property is informal, on a first come, first serve basis. People are allowed to go into the wilderness and build houses on their own, deep within the woods, without any governmental regulations.

Other than checking that the only crops grown are non-GMO ones, and combating illegal growing of drug plants, the government doesn't put it's nose into these family farms, and the people are free to grow any fruits and vegetables that they wish. Hunting, gathering, fishing, and foraging is mostly unregulated. Rural and agrarian lifestyles are encouraged by the government. Taxes are reasonable, and economic freedom is allowed, however the only currency that is used are bronze coins, and barter is the default exchange of goods and services in rural areas.

The government is content to keep their people at around a 19th century level of technology. For the people there are cottage industries, which are located in villages, and all clothes, kitchenware, farm tools, etc are produced by craftsmen. More complicated tools, such as the aforementioned diesel saws, tractors, and refrigerators (which are all typically knock offs of East Asian models) are produced by cooperative industries owned by village councils, and many of these small and medium scale industries are propped up by the government. The only heavy industries allowed are government controlled ones, which produce more advanced machinery, such as trains, parts of power plants and other critical infrastructure, solar panels, cargo airships, some approved modern medicines such as aspirin, and an insane amount of military hardware (which is for the most part up to date on modern standards, surprisingly enough) such as bombs, tanks, planes, helicopters, and nuclear weapons, in order to keep the rest of the world from taking over the country, something that the government is extremely paranoid about. Modern technology is limited to only where it is absolutely necessary, in government, military, or critical infrastructure facilities.

The government is also committed to staving off global warming. As mentioned above, all cars are banned. The dirt bike, and horse with buggy have replaced cars for short of medium distances. Wood trains, a modification of steam trains to burn wood chips instead of coal, are used to transport people and goods for long distances. Cargo blimps and helicopters are used by the government to provide transport to remote villages, several times per year. These flying machines are of course powered by Russian oil, from government owned refineries. All plastics are banned. Coal is used freely as a fuel source for government owned factories. Most of the electricity is produced by dams, solar panels, wind turbines, some coal plants, and the few extant nuclear power planets still in operation. All of this is still not enough, so most of the electricity only goes towards essential infrastructure, government owned factories, medical centers, the greatly reduced in size urban areas, and some other essential areas. Most of the villages aren't connected to the grid at all, and either make their electricity sporadically by use of solar panels, wind turbines, and portable diesel generators, or live without electricity at all, relying on wood stoves for heating.

The country of True Russia is closed off to the outside world as a giant hermit kingdom, it's economy being completely autarkic. The government is concerned about people escaping the country, and also about foreign ideas coming into the country, spoiling the "cultural purity" of this new civilization that they have created. This policy has become even more stricter with the rise of technologies such as transhumanism, augmentation, and genetic modification in the rest of the world, and the government is paranoid of the "cyborgs" and "GMO people" overrunning their civilization.

Civil liberties are a mixed bag. Computers and any modern technologies are banned, as is modern clothing, all plastics, junk food, and any leftovers of Soviet, Capitalist, or cosmopolitan culture. The government is very much North Korean like, and there is no semblance of a parliament. Villages are for the most part self governed though, however they have to attend government mandated "ancient Russian holidays". Arranged marriages (by parents) and large families are the norm, anything else is forbidden. A standardized form of the medieval Russian language is enforced, as are medieval Russian dress codes. Outwardly non traditional architecture is banned. Non Russian minorities have more freedom in cultural aspects, as long as they look "medieval enough" to government inspectors. Russians are subject to more thorough cultural and ideological tests. They are extremely superficial however, and LARPers and cosplayers have been able to outwit inspectors.

Compared to the rural areas, the cities have more modern amneties such as electricity and indoor plumbing, but life there is more regimented and subject to these cultural regulations, and curfews after sunset. People in rural areas generally are able to fly under the radar, especially if they go live in the forest as a hermit. Entertainment, except for government approved traditional cultural ceremonies, is banned as a "cosmopolitan" thing, as are restaurants, bars, and cafes, so that people would eat home cooked food only. Street food is allowed however, as are farmer's markets. Cities have population quotas in efforts to make most of the people live in rural areas. Cell phones are banned, and instead walkie talkies and 1950s phones are used. Productivity is a virtue, and anyone who is visibly slacking off, wandering around, squatting around, or littering may be whipped by the police on the spot.

While the government basically forces people to have a rural lifestyle, they don't interfere with farming, hunting, fishing, or other small scale economic activities. Although the urban areas are authoritarian and regimented, much of the forests outside of critical infrastructure or military facilities are completely ungoverned. In fact, the rural regions of this country are some of the most free areas of the world in this timeline. By the late 21st century, in this timeline, most of the other countries in the world have devolved into dystopian technocratic surveillance states, fear of which keeps the paranoid neo medieval True Russia state unified. An exodus of Amish people, Native Americans, traditional Europeans, and others have been accepted into Russia, as long as thorough medical inspections reveal that they are in fact humans, and not "cyborgs" or "terminators", as are most citizens in all other countries except the "Hermit Empire".
 
Last edited:
Inspired by Hyperborea and Kemerovo in the TNO timeline:

True Russianiam

Very interesting, especially the parts about tolerance toward minorities, and the people from the high-tech surveillance states seeking refuge in Russia. It sounds like even though this country is (rightfully) critical of surveillance states, they do a fair amount of surveillance themselves, at least on people living in cities. Language exams, medical inspections, etc. Still, the Russians in this scenario could very likely be the lesser evil compared to who they're up against on the international scene, not that that justifies in the slightest their own oppressive cultural purity policies. Being the lesser evil is no excuse for oppression.
 
Very interesting, especially the parts about tolerance toward minorities, and the people from the high-tech surveillance states seeking refuge in Russia. It sounds like even though this country is (rightfully) critical of surveillance states, they do a fair amount of surveillance themselves, at least on people living in cities. Language exams, medical inspections, etc. Still, the Russians in this scenario could very likely be the lesser evil compared to who they're up against on the international scene, not that that justifies in the slightest their own oppressive cultural purity policies. Being the lesser evil is no excuse for oppression.
I dont think a state inspired by TNO Hyperborea can really be called a lesser evil in any meaningful way tbh.
 
Also, I think this version of Russia has a lot in common with the "Organic California" regime I described here. Right down to the rhetoric that lumps together capitalism and communism as "bad modern stuff". Admittedly, @DocBen 's is more well-thought-out and more (scarily) plausible.

 
A small collection of ideologies. Folksy-ism, Above it all-ism, Dry Wit-ism, Complexism
Which of these ideas, if any, would you like to see me elaborate on? All of the names are temporary until I can think of better ones
  • Folksy-ism or Anti-Engineering: The belief that we should abolish big institutions, in favor of an informal, folksy way of life. They oppose engineering, standardization, vast bureaucracies, and anything that feels to "professional". They like fluidity, spontaneity, spirituality, and art.
  • Above it all -ism: Sort of a "great man theory" type of ideology that puts a lot of trust in individual leaders, with the caveat that leaders must have impeccable moral character at all times. They oppose politicians who fight dirty or do anything even mildly scandalous, and they support leaders who embody the "wise old mentor" archetype, someone who is above it all - above the vulgarity, that is.
  • Dry Wit -ism: An ideology characterized by using dry wit, sarcastic understatement, and inside jokes to poke fun at arrogant buffoonery. They are also sometimes described as bleeding-heart socialists wrapped in conservative clothing. They oppose capitalism, egoism, and over-the-top antics, and they like equality, subtlety, and to some extent, traditional aesthetics.
  • Complexism: They believe that since living things are more complex than dead matter, it follows that complexity us generally good. They oppose simple structures, uniformity, and routine, and they like vivid colors and institutions so complex that no one can understand them in full.
 
Dry Wit -ism: An ideology characterized by using dry wit, sarcastic understatement, and inside jokes to poke fun at arrogant buffoonery. They are also sometimes described as bleeding-heart socialists wrapped in conservative clothing. They oppose capitalism, egoism, and over-the-top antics, and they like equality, subtlety, and to some extent, traditional aesthetics.
So Ironic Traditionalism with sarcastic "conservatives"?
That sounds fun!
Folksy-ism or Anti-Engineering: The belief that we should abolish big institutions, in favor of an informal, folksy way of life. They oppose engineering, standardization, vast bureaucracies, and anything that feels to "professional". They like fluidity, spontaneity, spirituality, and art.
This sounds like the kind of thing that could easily prosper as a niche 2000s ideology
 
How about competing forms of Bonapartism as more or less mainstream political movements in France?
Or perhaps in a timeline with a extremely successful Louis XIV or someone like Napoleon claiming to be his reincarnation you get a ideology called "Soleilism"
 
How about competing forms of Bonapartism as more or less mainstream political movements in France?
That's a good idea. Maybe it could be like how people cherry-pick through the Bible looking for verses that support their agenda? Except they'd be cherry-picking the sayings and policies of Napoleon instead?
 
That's a good idea. Maybe it could be like how people cherry-pick through the Bible looking for verses that support their agenda? Except they'd be cherry-picking the sayings and policies of Napoleon instead?
Or they outright make a Napoleonic "Bible" ala Mein Kampf
 
Complexism: They believe that since living things are more complex than dead matter, it follows that complexity us generally good. They oppose simple structures, uniformity, and routine, and they like vivid colors and institutions so complex that no one can understand them in full.
That sounds interesting. I had an idea for something similar, except they used an intimidating brutalist style rather then vivid colors.
 
So Ironic Traditionalism with sarcastic "conservatives"?
That sounds fun!
Glad you like it.

This sounds like the kind of thing that could easily prosper as a niche 2000s ideology
Yeah, maybe it started as a prank that spiraled out of control. Or maybe it was dead serious from the beginning. Either way, somebody looked around at all the infrastructure of the modern world and said, "Dude, all this infrastructure? It's all way too well-engineered. Wouldn't it be better if everything was sloppy and chaotic? And also built with love by a totally hip artisan? And also on fire?" "Yeah bro, that would be lit as fuck."

I've already spent way too much time thinking about this ideology. As a software developer, I would probably be set on fire immediately.

That sounds interesting. I had an idea for something similar, except they used an intimidating brutalist style rather then vivid colors.
Oh, cool! Yeah, the faction I was thinking of would NOT like brutalist architecture, though they might be more forgiving in cases where the floor plans are sufficiently maze-like.
 
I know I want to create a fake ideology, but I'm thinking of giving myself the challenge that it has to be based on a musical number from a Broadway (or Starkid) musical.

So you may or may not see me write up a serious, sober ideology based on a number from Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.
 
Shakespearean Utopianism
Shakespearean Utopianism
Inspired by:
The events of the 2030s in this timeline were devastating to marginalized communities in the United States. Repressive legislation, increasing spurious accusations of pedophilia and other cruelties towards entire communities, systems of gerrymandering, voter repression, and outright eliminationist rhetoric becoming mainstream caused many on the progressive left and in marginalized communities to feel unsafe and unwelcome in their own country. More to the point, they felt disempowered at the hands of bigots and oppressive hierarchies.

While in the early 2030s the most common political tendency for such people was some form of socialism, socialism was heavily demonized and frankly was just too serious for the irony-poisoned zoomers and Gen Sigma of the time. In addition, any kind of ideological unity of the American socialist movement (as dead as it was from infiltration due to the Second Cold War) was impossible. Trotskyists hated Stalinists, Stalinists hated Trotskyists, Social Democrats hated anarchists, anarchists hated Social Democrats, Trotskyists, and Stalinists, Stalinists hated Social Democrats, and so on. Any kind of unity of the microsects was impossible.

Meanwhile, the more standard left-liberals at the time were increasingly beholden to the very corporations who funded bigoted laws to begin with, and the dominant-party democracy of the time meant that the Unionist-Democrats were a permanent opposition to the Republicans and their dangerously extreme Federalist wing. However, there was a solution to this catastrophe, one that managed to unify vast swathes of left-wing and marginalized people. It had very little theoretical depth, almost no economics behind it, no science backing it up beyond what already existed for social progressivism, and in general was kind of a giant joke. Until, of course, it wasn't.

Formed out of the D&D 7E boom of the late 2030s, waves of "theatre kids" and ex-theatre kids, fans of fantasy, and neopagans who figured the new movement would leave their faith alone (unlike the anti-pagan crusade that community was undergoing), the movement called itself Shakespearean Utopianism. It was an ironic meme at first, members claiming to worship Titania and Oberon, or to be able to do strange magic like Prospero, or kids taking on 16th century names. However, the movement encouraged meeting up, and members (creative writers, fanfiction authors, tabletop RPG players, and people with strong convictions) managed to meet up.

While there was never a singular leader of the movement, the general consensus of the movement was the intent to create a modern yet retrofuturistic society full of stories, magical beings to pray to and deal with, and to protect all those who needed protecting. Shakespearean Utopians on Sizzlr, a blogging website, formed chapters of the decentralized movement. Often, these chapters developed into theatre troupes or the like, providing free entertainment for all while promoting progressive causes. Big-name Shakespearean Utopians managed to pool money to buy entire swaths of "charter cities" in the somewhat more progressive Canada, turning them into states-within-states. By this point, a large Shakespearean Utopianist movement had formed in the US and was stronger and more vocal in Canada (partially thanks to US transplants).

The movement's sheer memetic value, genuine social connections, and inherent silliness helped to mitigate clout-chasing and circular firing squads, with the collective tradition of the stage guiding the ethos. The truth was that people took it as seriously or jokingly as was necessary for the time, and that sort of flexibility generally worked. That said, the decentralized nature of the movement meant that in the early days, there were a few scandals that luckily for the movement but unluckily for the victims didn't really get out. Still, eventually a Utopian Party was formed in Canada, and the sheer amount of LGBTQ+, female, and progressive racial minority refugees from America caused its numbers to swell. There was a moral panic in Canada over it, about infiltrators, but the panic blew over and the Utopian Party grew to have a sizable presence in Canada, displacing the failing NDP.

More "charter cities" were formed under Shakespearean lines, and the movement grew more unified now that it had a specific party. Essentially, a mix of LARPers, nerds, Shakespearean neopagans, 2011 Tumblr, and Ren-Faire Progressives. Like many leftist movements, the movement is riven with infighting, but never to the extent of the old leftist movements online, especially without Twitter or Reddit equivalents being developed ITTL. The movement also benefitted from a relative breakdown of the right and center in Canada.

As individualist good guys: The Utopianists are a happy, thoughtful people where everyone is welcomed to be themselves and contribute to a vast patchwork of identities and ideas. People focus on self-actualization and friendship, along with the creation of new art along the lines of Shakespeare himself.

As individualist bad guys: The Utopianists are infighting, bigoted pseudo-progressives who use wacky aesthetics to hide the worst kind of purging, harassment, and death threats of those who are seen as "cringey" or "not really part of the good identities". Hoaxes spread like wildfire, the whole thing's a money extraction tool by big-name Shakespeareans, and all in all it's a vicious pyramid scheme.

As collectivist good guys: A theatre troupe is all about working together to get a show ready, and as such the people of the Shakespearean Utopianist nation are kind, compassionate, and helpful, always ready to defend their own and others. An injury to one is an injury to all.

As collectivist bad guys: Happiness is mandatory, social pressure causes its own kind of repression, and the problems of a decentralized movement means that it turns into a sort of federation of micro-cults of personality. There is no illusion of equality, everyone exists to serve their local writer, playwright, director, or priest(ess).
 
Top