Principles of Democracy
- Individual freedom (rights and responsibilities)
- Equal Treatment (social, political, legal, economic: due process, civil rights, jury of one’s peers, etc.)
- Transparent governance (independent judiciary, checks and balances, free press and speech)
- Majority rule (51%)
- Minority rights (Often misinterpreted, this concept refers to basic rights that the majority cannot vote to take away. For example, the majority cannot decide that selling one’s vote is ok because we are all guaranteed “one person, one vote.” The Founding Fathers, wealthy men, were particularly concerned that the majority of voters who were poor shouldn’t be able to take over the wealth of the minority by voting for it to become public property. Thomas Jefferson, 1801, “that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” Over the decades, democracies around the world have been trying to balance individual freedoms, majority rule, and the equal rights of minorities.)
Principles of Capitalism
- Creating long-term economic value (growth)
- Creating long-term social value (quality of life)
- Creating value through promotion of individual rights of owners, customers, employees, suppliers, and investors
Indigenous Principles (generally)
- The 4 R’s: respect, reciprocity, relationship, and responsibility
- Respect for the circle of life for all (humans, animals, plants, etc.): birth, growth, aging, death, repeat.
- Reciprocity: give as well as receive, equity rather than equality, balance
- Relationship: community well-being and liberty of the individual (i.e., no one is required to co-exist but to live within the community means to respect what is good for the whole).
- Responsibility: sustainability and peaceful co-existence
