A liberal manifesto

In a world where new laws and regulations are invented every day, a return to a simple and fundamental set of laws may seem exotic and strange, but there is no reason to believe that an ever more complex set of laws does anything to enhance the rule of law. Rather the opposite seems to be happening, with politicians interfering evermore directly into the world of law and order, and a return to a set of simple and fundamental rules may already be long overdue.

I propose, therefore, the following liberal manifesto to serve as a guide to the dismantling of the over regulated state:

1. We are all equal to the law, and laws exist for the sole purpose of protecting the life, property and freedom of individuals.
   
2. No law or regulation can be in violation of any one of the fundamental liberties of life, property and freedom, and no law can be made that does not serve to safeguard at least one of these liberties.
   
3. No law can apply to events that occurred before its introduction.
   
4. An individual’s fundamental liberties can only be restricted by a court of law, and only when there is reasonable evidence that the suspect has been violating at least one of these liberties of another person.
   
5. All individuals apprehended as suspects of a crime have the right to a swift and fair trial, and the help of an attorney.
   
6. Apprehension of suspects can only be carried out by individuals, or organizations that have permission to do so from a court of law.
   
7. Justice must be measured against the loss suffered by the victim, but cannot irreversibly remove any of the criminal’s fundamental rights.
   
8. Taxes are paid by the people for the sole purpose of supporting the court of law and the legislative branch of government.
   
9. Taxes must be fair and equally applied to every individual, and must intrude as little as possible on any of the individual’s fundamental liberties.
   
10. The legislative body of government and the supreme judicial court are elected by the people every 4 years.

In the liberal state, the individual is supreme in the right to life, property and freedom, and the only obligation of the individual to the state is the taxes that are needed to safeguard these rights, through an efficient and swift justice system. All other functions of society can only be made through the voluntary cooperation of each individual.

Government in a liberal state concerns itself solely with the protection of the three fundamental liberties of the individual, and is therefore very small. Society is organized through contracts between individuals, companies and organizations, and the court of law has as the swift processing of disputes concerning these contracts, as its only task in addition to upholding the constitution itself. As a consequence, the courts in a liberal state can be expected to be large.

The apprehension of criminals and the defense of the state is not a matter for the courts or government, and are left to private organizations and individuals, who have to fund their activities with voluntary contributions. However, any restrictions on the fundamental liberties of an individual require permission by a court of law.

Justice must be reversible, so death sentence and corporal punishment is not permitted.

A flat tax on consumption, rather than income or property is likely to be the least intrusive on the fundamental liberties of an individual, and most likely to apply equally to every one.

The government and the courts of law exist solely for the purpose of the people and supreme representatives are as a consequence installed by the people in free and fair elections. Since every individual are equal to the law, all elections are carried out with one vote per individual.