Neoism in 300 Words

Centrism

Neoism sees centrism as the only rational political standpoint because while it believes in the aspect of theory, Neoism sees ideas of practice as dictated by the specific situation and not by some form of predetermined collective truth. Centrism is seen as an important political feature of a supranational authority because of the impartiality implicit in centrist beliefs. Applying centrism to politics is not an ideological matter for Neoism since it sees centrism as only attainable in a political unit that is not divided into categories motivated by party interest.

Collectivism

Neoism frames its collectivist doctrine in terms of egalitarian fundamentalism meaning humanity should work for ethical and practical reasons to provide itself with a universal standard of living rooted in providing the fundamentals of life and the prospect for greater attainment grounded in meritocracy.

Human Rights and Humanitarianism

The standards of egalitarian fundamentalism are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document is perceived by Neoists to be an important covenant outlining the forms of fundamental rights which all humans should possess and hence the proposed building of an apparatus capable of expanding these standards worldwide.

Supranationalism

As a consequence of the universal aspiration to providing human rights, Neoism proposes the foundation and the building of a system through which these values can be spread universally. Neoism, as elaborated upon later, sees supranationalism as a doctrine of transcendence which divorces party interests from fundamental human interests thus creating an environment where centrism can exist where the positions of policy-makers are dictated by logic and common sense rather than ideological standards or national interests.

Individualism, Social Libertarianism, and Consent.

Neoism sees the spreading of humanitarian standards as part of spreading the ideals of individualism, where individuals are judged on the basis of their optional identity rather than their innate features, and Social Libertarianism meaning constitutionalism, consensual governance, and the expansion of first tier rights into second tier rights. 

 

Ideology

A correctly organized ideology is made up of three important parts:

Descriptive Factor – The world as it is

Normative Factor – The world as it should be

Prescriptive Factor – How to get from how the world is to how it should be

When each of these three parts are blended together coherently, the end result is a framework of thought – an ideology. It is in these terms, through which we will look at Neoism and analyze its most important assertions.

 

The Descriptive Factor

Descriptive theory is an account of the world and its history that is interpreted in a way which highlights the need for what the ideology proposes in its normative theory. For this category, Neoism relies on two main political ideas. The first idea that Neoism asserts is a recurring theme in most political literature; the theory of international anarchy. The theory of international anarchy is a widely accepted and primary assumption in international relations. It basically states that there is no unit operating above nation-states – countries – since every country on Earth is legally seen as being equal through the doctrine of sovereignty. International organizations like the United Nations or the European Union are often mistaken as establishments that have risen above the power of the national-state. These organizations, however, are not nationally-transcendent and present no challenge to the dominance of the national-state.  In other words, they are not competing  with the concept of the national state, since they are made up of national states themselves. Therefore observing the existence of such international organizations does not challenge the notion that there are legally equal and competitive entities that are not regulated from above – this assumption being the essence of the international anarchy theory. 

The second component of the descriptive factor involves a theory about history and development. It takes historical data and analyzes it with a thesis in mind with the hope of proving the existence of some kind of precedence which would not represent a violent rupture with history, but merely the continuation upon a path with a sure destination. Neoism does this through postulating the emergence from self-ignorance theory. This theory basically states that humanity’s development as a collective is directly proportionate to how aware it is of itself as a whole. In other words, Neoism looks at history an sees the discoveries made and the connections formed by and between different peoples as a precursor to a jump forward in development. For instance, without the exchanges that took place between Europe and the rest of the world, involving many resources that are now taken for granted the industrial revolution, would’ve not taken place.

.This development of mutual awareness and relationships have evolved into a now universal system of political units –national sates- that have at the very least diplomatic dialogue. From this, it is possible to see the jump forward from where we were as a species in history and where we are as a species now and observe that we live in the most prosperity-filled era that humanity has ever enjoyed. Therefore Neoism postulates that humanity stands at a pivotal era in its history since there are no more lands to be discovered or new peoples to be found: there’s only the groundwork for a universal system and the prospect of integration. For Neoists, this is the ultimate argument against ideologies, identities, and ideas that preach awareness contraction through radical individualism, nationalism, and ethnocentricity since it sees such doctrines as inherently regressive and delaying the inevitable result of historical momentum. 

 

The Normative Factor 

The normative theory of Neoism is mandated by the descriptive theory. The first and foremost postulation of the normative theory is the idea that international anarchy is inherently negative and that there is a need for an entity to represent humanity in its collectivity. This comes in the form of defending human rights and building an international community orientated toward founding a humanitarian action network. This network is not run by or directly accountable to national states but rather a democratic conglomeration of organizations and individuals holding international citizenship and a conceptual immunity toward serving national interests.  In other words, this entity is supranational in orientation. Supranational meaning transcending state power rather than indulging it giving rise to a nationally-transcendent political unit that is charged with the regulation of the international system in terms of defending human rights and upholding international covenants.

Neoism believes that the building of such an apparatus which is transcendent of state power will minimize nationalist tendencies toward disregarding human rights for state interests. In turn, it is postulated a nationally-transcendent political unit will facilitate transnational human connection and cooperation with the objective of hastening the historical trends toward the deepening and expansion of human relations. Neoism sees this integration as an evolutionary process rather than a revolutionary one. This does not mean, however, that the process cannot be speeded up and this is a very important part of what Neoism wants to accomplish with the formation of a supranational body. By the very nature of its creation, Neoism expects a culture to arise which is built out of a loyalty to humanity as a collective. Consequently, it is expected that a plethora of organizations, forums, identities, and companies espouse a distinctly humanitarian culture which expands on the existing elements of globalization to birth a truly globalized society.

 

The Prescriptive Factor

Finally there is a question of how. Prescriptive theories address how to get from how the world is to how it should be. For Neoism, the answer lays in civil society (non-governmental organizations and other non-state establishments). Neoism sees it in these organizations best interests to unite and mobilize for the creation of a supranational organization and an apparatus for the coherent defense of human rights. Civil society is intended as the life-blood of the Neoist movement offering not only a vast outlay of prospective support, but reliable social vehicles for the enforcement of its agendas. Neoists argue not only is the consolidation of civil society into a common framework in their interests, but also in the interests of civil society as a whole and the individual organizations that make it up. As a result, Neoism makes arguments, some complex and some simple, about how non-government establishments have undeniable commonalities that should serve for the basis of a unity to counteract the marginalization of civil society. Once a strong union of humanitarian organizations have been built Neoism then sees it feasible to prepare them to form the basis for a supranational organization and then lobby governments and other important political actors for recognition as such.

Although it is not yet clear how national states will come to consent to such a regulatory organization, they’re several reasons outlined here that point to why such a political unit would benefit the nation state. Failing the national state seeing the logic in such reforms, Neoism seeks to rely on internal pressure groups and allied domestic actors who would lobby for the fulfillment of the Neoist agenda and thus exert internal pressure on governments.

The unity of non-government establishments is an important part of this advocacy process since they have both the resources and connections to lean on governments for their consent and perhaps even their cooperation. According to mainstream Neoist theory, however, the most important aspect that civil society provides is an independence from governmental support that any humanitarian establishment, supranational or international, needs in order to provide real unprejudiced support for human rights without the looming nationalist agendas implicit in accepting governments as the only source of support. Neoism wishes to protect human rights as is practical and necessary rather than being constrained by sordid political agendas that according to Neoist ideology cheapens human rights advocacy.

 

Terms

Humanitarian Supranationalism

No political label quite captures Neoism but humanitarian supranationalism is the closest conventional terminology to a technical name for Neoism. The term is used synonymously with Neoism. Humanitarian refers to how Neoism views itself in terms of conventional politics, highlighting the need for an altruistic loyalty to humanity and the will to take on the fundamental problems of the species as a whole. Supranationalism refers to the need for a global authority transcendent of governmental power for the cogent representation of human rights. Accordingly, Neoism distinguishes between internationalism and supranationalism (two terms that are often used synonymously) claiming that internationalism is derived from states getting together in a common framework as per the Latin prefix  “inter.” The Latin prefix “supra” means “above” or “transcendent of.”

 

Revolution

Some Neoist texts reference the concept of revolution. This is not and should not be taken to mean the traditional violent convolutions associated with historical revolutions. Neoism does, however, see itself as a revolutionary ideology since it seeks to do what other revolutionary ideologies sought to do and that is manifest systemic reform and a redefinition of the current international system.

 

7 Convictions

These are the 7 governing principles of Neoism as an ideology. They contain the basic framework of Neoism as an ideology.

 

Planetary Directive

This is the initiative that highlights the need for a supranational authority regulating the international system in the interests of civilized conduct and human rights. Though not an organization yet, the Planetary Directive is theoretical framework with the purpose of illustrating the nature of such an organization and how it should come into being.

 

Global Equinox Agenda

A mediator body for the unity and cooperation of civil society (the collective term for non-governmental establishments).

 

7th Legion

A body for the engagement of current power structures such as political parties and advocacy organizations with the purpose of establishing a unified program of humanitarian social action on domestic platforms.

 

7 Departments

The main administrative bodies of the Neoist movement.