by Max Barry

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The Communal Confederation of
Left-wing Utopia Utopia

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Law and Justice in Beatitas

Q: How does law and justice operate in Beatitas?

A: LinkLaw and Justice is non-existent in Beatitas.

Q: No, not that Law and Justice! I mean, please describe your laws and your justice system. You can start with how laws are made.

A: Very well then! During the weekly legislative sessions of each commune, most citizens congregate in order to pass laws. Once a bill is proposed by anyone, it is read, then debated, then modified. That repeats until everyone is satisfied. Now, if you're wondering how we satisfy everyone, we've got a treat for you. Citizens may apply to be exempt from the new law. So, our democracy is direct, unlike the 'democracies' of Earth.

Q: Beatitas, I have heard, judges many things upon something called 'true freedom.' How is this differentiated from normal freedom? Also, what do Beata mean when they speak of the 'interaction of rights?'

A: Ah, this is one of my favorite questions to answer!

Every human has rights. The right to live and the right to free speech are among those. Regular, or deceptive freedom would be a total maximization of those rights. This is the popular, and incorrect conception of anarchy. You would be free to murder your neighbor for annoying you. You could raze a city and claim it was within your rights to do so. However, the freedom offered here is deceptive. The murdered people have the right of life taken away from them. Thus, you could say lawlessness is unfreedom. This is what true freedom is all about: the sum total of all rights held by all people.

True freedom is what every sane society aims for. The difference between various societies is found in where they believe maximum true freedom is on the spectrum between no deceptive freedom and total deceptive freedom.

True freedom is closely related to the concept of the interaction of rights. To illustrate the above concept, let us recall the scenario above. Imagine yourself being held on trial for your murder of your neighbor. You, the defendant, claim that it was within your rights to murder your neighbor becuase you have the right to do whatever you want. The prosecutor replies that it was within your neighbor's rights to stay alive. This is the interaction of rights. Since neither of your rights can be fully maintained, they must be balanced.

This balance is found in the quote, "Your freedom ends where another's begins." Paraphrased, you may do whatever you desire so long as it does not interfere upon the rights of another. But where to stop and where to begin? Once again we turn to true freedom. We must strive to attain maximum freedom, maximum balance. Every case varies, but each right's contribution to true freedom is loosely based upon a so-called 'hierarchy of freedoms.' Those that rate higher on the hierarchy cause greater happiness or sadness when granted or denied, respectively. Thus, true freedom is correlated to the concept of happiness.

Q: Very interesting. How does Beatitas handle policing and justice, seeing that it has no state?

A: The responsibilities of the state are meted out to the collective. Each citizen polices and judges. Beatitas' marked pacifism allows every citizen to catch crime. Since there are no firearms at all and assault and murder are very rare, each citizen can adequately perform the duties of the police. Beatitas still retains judges, however they are mostly ceremonial. The position of judge rotates between willing people. The judge only presides over the trial and provides rather obscure legal information to the jury. The jury decides whether the suspect is guilty or innocent or in need of protective rehabilitation. Any citizen, provided that they will be impartial, may join the jury. The judge also gets to vote.

Q: You mentioned 'protective rehabilitation.' What does that mean? On a related note, Beatitas is known to have rather relaxed criteria concerning whether or not a defendant is guilty. Can you explain these criteria?

A: Well, for the benefit of all those who don't know, Beatitas has no prisons. In their place, we have rehabilitation centers. We believe that rehabilitation, rather than punishment, is the best way to handle with miscreants. Those who toil for years in prison often learn nothing, while those who are convinced that they were wrong leave rehabilitation a better person.

Beatitas also aims for the justice system to be as compatible with one's personal system of morality as possible. In other words, if you sincerely believe that you did not do anything wrong despite your legally having committed a crime, you will be declared innocent, some of the time. This applies if the total true freedom is believed to have remained stable or increased. Otherwise, you are put under 'protective rehabilitation.' Your right to act as you desire is less significant than the right of someone else. Protective rehabilitation aims to only rid you of the desire to act upon your malformed (well, at least that's how it's viewed by most) beliefs. Others must not intrude on your right to believe in what you desire.

Guilty verdicts are given only when the defendant concedes to having regretted the crime. However, remember that a guilty verdict is not as severe as it sounds. Because the defendant desires to change, the rehabilitation will help them to do so.

Q: That's all. Thank you for your time.

A: You're welcome!

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