In October, my kingdom ratified a new constitution. Some major changes were made to the way Überstadt works. Parliament became a direct assembly (only the High Chancellor being excluded). The monarchy ceased to be hereditary. Finally, much to the ire of the micronational right, money was abolished and the foundations of a socialist economy were established.
I was once a believer that a market system was the best way to develop a micronation’s economy. This proved to be untrue – if not for all micronations, at least for Überstadt. The market system did not empower all citizens, having a natural bias in favor of those who lived in Rosewood, the economic as well as political capital.
I have discussed before the practicality of socialism in my state. Evidence for it comes in the increased productivity of everyday citizens, stronger economic plans (for democratic planning is key in Überstadti society), and increased flexibility. But today, I wish to relay an anecdote that should illustrate to you the ethical implications of my country’s socialist economy. Some do not believe that the sorts of moral issues that underscore macronational economic ideologies are irrelevant to us as micronationalists; I do not think this is true at all.
Several months ago, my brother was doing homework on a Saturday. Being fifteen, he had no job. Just as all young people do, despite of a lack of income, he had goals and desires that required greenbacks to fulfill. I had no homework to do that day. Saturday is the day that the common bathroom of the Royal Residency is cleaned. I wanted to do something interesting, rather than spend half an hour doing my half of the cleaning. Being employed, I had money. I approached my brother and offered him some small sum – it had to have been less than five dollars – to do my half of the chores as well as all of his own. Naturally, he obliged. In a moment of laziness, I took advantage of his lack of funds and bought him, preventing him from concentrating more on his job as a student.
Recently, I had some extra cash in my wallet, and was tempted to pull a similar stunt. But then I realized that such behavior had since become illegal. The new law did not take away my freedom to do what I pleased with my money. Instead, it gave my brother freedom from my tricky attempts to skip doing my share of household tasks.
I began to envision an Überstadti welfare system to reward citizens who work for the nation’s benefit not just with our new labor vouchers, but with American currency if they are poorer than most others. Should not a micronation see to the welfare of its supporters, even if it can only do so in the smallest things? I decided to begin drafting a statute that would accomplish as much.
I stopped exploiting him.
The Occidental Chronicle 