1 – What is a Difference Between a Society and a City, a State or a Country
Cities, states and countries are all delimited by frontiers, thus they all refer to a specific territory.
The same is true for societies. The difference lies in the fact that societies are the results of all actions occurring inside this territory be they individual, group or collective, while cities, states and countries are only partially the results of these actions, since they can only control some of these actions.
2 – What is a Balanced Society?
A balanced society is a society where most of our individual, group and collective actions facilitate :
• our development and our societal integration
• the development and societal integration of our fellow citizens
• the development and the functioning of our collectivities.
• the development and the functioning of our governments.
While creating or maintaining an environment where we are free to develop as we wish (Freedom) and where, when appropriate, we restrain our actions so that are fellow citizens can develop the way they wish. (Liberty)
3 – What is a Citizen?
Citizens are co-owners of the societies in which they live. Citizenship is therefore a form of profession.
Ideally, since citizens are co-owners of their city and country, as well as their province, state, region or department, all citizens, including politicians, public administrators and civic leaders, should have the necessary competences to enable them to play their role as co-owners. As such, citizens should have the following skills:
1 – personal – towards oneself
2 – social – towards others
3 – societals – towards society
4 – What is Freedom
Freedom refers to the domain where one can be free. The size of the domain varies from one species to another and depends on the solitary or social nature of the species.
Since humans are social animals, freedom is created by the collective management processes, which includes laws, religious diktats and cultural norms, that create the conditions where citizens can be free to develop themselves as they see fit.
5 – What is Liberty
Liberty is the actual space that we can claim to be ours. This space is dynamic since the space increases or decreases depending on the presence or absence of our fellow citizens.
Liberty is “the result” of the mutual self-restraining management processes used by citizens, individually and in groups, that allow our fellow citizens to be free.