A version of this post First ran August 1, 2017.
Some people finding out about Copiosis fear the innovation “nullifies” the United States Constitution and, as such, is not a good idea. It would essentially end everything that makes America, America.
Never mind the ton of evidence arguing that American values have never, ever been realized in the country. Nor was the country founded on freedom. Well, it was, just not for women and brown-skinned people and poor “white” people.
The constitution isn’t much better. For all it’s hallowed regard, the constitution’s writers never intended to enshrine freedom or democracy for posterity in the constitution. They wrote it to protect their interests.
As such, many institutions girding America’s social framework are flawed to their core. This is why so many are up in arms today. I think it’s also why the politically right is fundamentally up in arms: they don’t understand how un-free they actually are. If they did, they wouldn’t be fighting to keep America the way it is.
Here at Copiosis, when we talk about freedom, we’re talking about a much broader understanding of that word than probably anyone on earth thinks about it. Our sense of the word “freedom” comes from the future. Once you hear it, you’ll understand why Americans live in delusion: they aren’t free.
Here’s what we mean by freedom:
What really happens
It’s fair to say then that freedom as enshrined in the constitution falls far, FAR short of actual freedom.
I think those fearing the end of America via the destruction of its constitution are really concerned about the Constitution’s amendments and what they attempt to preserve.
But even here, this document falls far short of creating a just and truly peaceful world, let alone domestic tranquility, which is expressly stated in the constitution’s preamble.
There has been no significant period in American history where Americans got along. There’s always been conflict, oppression and wealth and power insecurity and, thus, underrepresentation of the majority of Americans. That’s mainly because of powerful, insecure, “white” men and their fear that the rest of America – which at the time included Native Americans, Mexicans, African slaves and poor white men and women who felt more akin to their darker-skinned neighbors – would take their wealth and divide it up among themselves. Most of that wealth was in land. Land previously-owned by “non-“white”” people. Land taken against their will through unethical and fraudulent “agreements”, or at the barrel of a gun. Land worked on and made productive by brown-skinned people against their will who resented the lying, cheating, murdering “white owners”, owners who (with no legitimacy) felt themselves superior to non-white people. Because rich “white” men had no real legitimate claim to that land and most people, even the “white” rich men, knew that. So powerful “white” male fear probably rang true for everyone.
So this document, the constitution, enforces that underrepresentation to protect the rich, the landed, the white gentry at the expense of everyone else. Do you really want to preserve that?
We don’t.
We don’t shy away from the fact that America will be fundamentally different from what it is today, after Copiosis. That’s a good thing for all Americans. Including the rich, including white men.
That doesn’t mean America disappears. It means it gets better, different, more prosperous, ready for the future.
That all said, let’s review the US Constitution, article by article, and amendment by amendment to see how, or if, Copiosis has an effect on any of them.
For organizational sake, I’m going to address them in the same way the wikipedia entry on the US Constitution does. That way, if you’re wanting to read the gritty details, or confirm anything, you can do that here.
Articles 1- 7
The first seven Articles of the Constitution don’t pertain to “freedoms” or “rights” at all (with the exception noted at the end of this post). They establish the federal government, including the executive, the judiciary and the legislative branches, and their respective powers.
They also outline relations among and between each state and the federal government. One article explains how to amend the Constitution.
Copiosis makes no changes to any of the articles. Nowhere in our material do we say any Article of the Constitution is changed.
So that leaves the Amendments. Again, I think this is what people fear Copiosis “nullifies”. Let’s look at them one-by-one:
Safeguards of liberty (Amendments 1, 2, and 3)
Amendment 1
What it is about/what it protects: Prohibits CONGRESS from obstructing the following: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and right to petition. Since it pertains to CONGRESS, and Copiosis is established for private citizens, Copiosis doesn’t nullify the first amendment. Specifically from the link above:
“The amendment guarantees an individual’s right to express and to be exposed to a wide range of opinions and views. It was intended to ensure a free exchange of ideas, even unpopular ones. It also guarantees an individual’s right to physically gather or associate with others in groups for economic, political or religious purposes. Additionally, it guarantees an individual’s right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Presumably, the above quote relates to Congress’ law-making power. Congress can’t make a law that infringes on the listed rights to free speech.
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis is silent on all of this, meaning, it has no effect on people’s right to free speech. But, and this is really important: because necessities are provided to all at no cost, EVERYONE has far more time to exercise all of the freedoms listed in Amendment 1 than they do today.
Today, people are often so busy trying to earn a living, they barely have the time to raise their head and make their opinions known. In Copiosis, you don’t have to earn a living. So making your opinions known is far easier.
Doesn’t that mean Copiosis increases one’s ability to exercise their right under the first amendment? Hmmm. There is nothing, NOTHING in Copiosis preventing the media, or people, from saying or doing what they want. There are many ways in Copiosis where people are free to petition. The citizen jury process, reputation account declarations, and the open nature of the Copiosis Organization are just a few. Again: people can do whatever they want in Copiosis. So, does Copiosis “nullify” the first amendment?
It does not.
Amendment 2
What it is about/what it protects: Essentially, the second amendment is about the right to bear arms.
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis is silent on this. There is no need for Copiosis to say anything about this because it’s not designed to impinge on people’s rights. It’s designed to provide MORE FREEDOM! There is NOTHING in any of our material that says anything about “people shouldn’t have guns”.
So does Copiosis “nullify” the second amendment?
No. It does not.
Amendment 3
What it is about/what it protects: The third Amendment basically says, “You can’t be forced to provide lodging to soldiers in your homes during peacetime without your consent.”
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis has NOTHING to say about this. But…if you WANT to put up a soldier in your house, or not…in Copiosis you’re free to do it!
Copiosis does not nullify the third Amendment.
Amendment 4
What it is about/what it protects: The Fourth Amendment protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures of either self or property by government officials.
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis is silent on this too. It doesn’t compel anyone, or give them authority to search your stuff or seize it. In fact, our property tracking system is in place for the exact opposite reason: to ensure one’s property is protected. As far as personal searches are concerned: there is nothing in Copiosis that says “people can search your person against your will”. In fact there are prohibitions against that kind of thing. NBR accounts and Reputation accounts, which are private data repositories individuals have in Copiosis, are only accessible by the person who owns them. Only they can authorize another to view them. But they never have to.
So, guess, what? So far, we’ve found no nullification of anything…..Let’s continue:
Amendment 5
What it is about/what it protects: It offers a long list of protections, mostly about “due process”:
“establishes the requirement that a trial for a major crime may commence only after an indictment has been handed down by a grand jury; protects individuals from double jeopardy, being tried and put in danger of being punished more than once for the same criminal act; prohibits punishment without due process of law, thus protecting individuals from being imprisoned without fair procedures; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to reveal to the police, prosecutor, judge, or jury any information that might incriminate or be used against him or her in a court of law. Additionally, the Fifth Amendment also prohibits government from taking private property for public use without “just compensation”, the basis of eminent domain in the United States.”
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis doesn’t reverse any of this. What it does is it rewards the justice system for ensuring these rights, and it rewards justice system professionals for acts which produce net benefit…just like any other person who acts.
So no nullification there either. Hmmmm.
Amendments 6, 7, 8
What they are about/what they protect: The Sixth, Seventh and Eighth amendments all deal with due process too, speedy trial, the right to confront your acuser.
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis enhances this by rewarding justice system workers for solutions that create net benefit – i.e. outcomes that are a net benefit to individuals (people), the planet (the environment) and society. The more Net Benefit produced, the more NBR these people get. So, instead of locking up a bunch of brown people because they have a drug those in charge decided is “illegal” – which is a HUGE waste of YOUR money, BTW – justice workers have to be far more creative about what they do….or don’t get rewarded.
Copiosis does eliminate a LOT of crime by providing necessities to everyone at no cost. So there’s that. But it doesn’t “nullify” due process or any of the other elements of the sixth amendment. What it does do is say: the outcomes of these procedures will be measured to determine their net benefit. To the degree the net benefit is positive, those responsible for those outcomes receive NBR.
Amendment 9
What it is about/what it protects: So the ninth amendment protects unstated rights we all have as persons, just in case some despot tries something dumb. Specifically it:
“…declares that individuals have other fundamental rights, in addition to those stated in the Constitution. Because the rights protected by the Ninth Amendment are not specified, they are referred to as “unenumerated”. The Supreme Court has found that unenumerated rights include such important rights as the right to travel, the right to vote, the right to privacy, and the right to make important decisions about one’s health care or body.”
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
All of these rights are not impinged on in any negative way. Quite the contrary, because necessities are provided at no cost, AND people are rewarded any time they benefit others, these rights are vastly ENHANCED.
So….the opposite. No nullification….ENHANCEMENT!
Amendment 10
What it is about/what it protects: The tenth amendment actually is a restriction on government relative to what it can do.
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis doesn’t infringe on this. It has nothing to say about what government can or cannot do. But people living in Copiosis may choose to ignore what government is doing simply because they don’t need government to run their society or protect them.
Amendment 11
What it is about/what it protects:
“Specifically prohibits federal courts from hearing cases in which a state is sued by an individual from another state or another country”
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis doesn’t tell courts how to do anything. What it does is measure the outcomes of court decisions. And if the outcomes create net benefit, everyone involved in the outcomes are rewarded NBR. That’s all it does. Of course, those people doing that work are free. They don’t have debt, they don’t have to kowtow to a political party: they are free agents and can do what they want. That frees them from having to do things they don’t think is fair.
Safeguards of civil rights (Amendments 13, 14, 15, 19, 23, 24, and 26)
What it is about/what it protects: These amendments are lumped together because they all deal with abolishing slavery, gave citizenship to former slaves, and all people “subject to U.S. jurisdiction”, they:
“also contained three new limits on state power: a state shall not violate a citizen’s privileges or immunities; shall not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; and must guarantee all persons equal protection of the laws.”
And a bunch of other things.
How does Copiosis effect this amendment?
Copiosis doesn’t say anything about reversing these. It actually enhances them.
But if people violate any of these amendments, it seems to me the Net Benefit calculation of such an act would merit no reward. Also, those who ensure these amendments are enforced would have cause to act to apprehend such a person and hold him liable for violating one’s civil rights. There is no prohibition in Copiosis for ANYONE to take such an act upon another who violates someone’s civil rights…..
So again, Copiosis doesn’t “nullify” our rights, it simply enhances their protections.
The rest of the amendments are about government processes and procedures. This is a good time to bring up that exception.
If you TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE MATERIAL, you’ll see that government is functionally eliminated. What does that mean? It means that the processes used to govern and regulate how things are done in a given country still exist. But: why is that stuff needed when people are free to do what they want, and if their “doing” benefits others, they can get rich? In essence, the algorithm creates an “action incentive” that inspires people to do things for others (and the planet) that create increasing prosperity and freedom, without any of the negative stuff we see in the world today.
Meanwhile, government people – the “big government” people on the right complain about – just gets smaller, and smaller and smaller. What is it replaced by? People doing things. Many of the same things government workers are doing now. Only, in Copiosis, these things are done far better because everyone is inspired to increase others’ quality of life, by virtue of how they are rewarded.
So, no. Copiosis doesn’t make the US Constitution “null and void”. Rather, it enhances what is is designed to preserve: Freedom.
