The Goodbarrelian Manifesto

[HalflingPrincess 411]

[!] A pamphlet is nailed to the Bramblebury Notice Board!
 

The Goodbarrelian Manifesto
The Ideals of Contemporary Halfling Democracy

(Revised for the 1806 Reformations)

By Greta Goodbarrel

 

What is Goodbarrelian Democracy?

In the years prior to the publishing of this updated manifesto; the term “Goodbarrelian Democracy” has in many ways become a loaded phrase. A number of halflings have come to heavily associate it with the flawed and immensely unpopular Constitution of Bramblebury that I wrote in 1797. While it is true that I wrote the constitution with my principles in mind, it must be understood that Goodbarrelian Democracy is a concept that predates Bramblebury’s Republic, and refers less to any specific design or form of government and more to the ideals that should be pursued by any good halfling leader.

Simply put; Goodbarrelian Democracy refers to the set of values and principles I introduced to halfling politics in the late 18th century, and more broadly, to the overall shift away from Bernardist inspired authoritarian Thainship to the more traditional and democratic governments of old.

What do Goodbarrelian Democrats believe?

If you describe yourself as a Goodbarrelian Democrat, you reject both the greed, barbarity, and selfishness of biggun governments as well as the overbearing, overly zealous, and undemocratic notions of Bernardism. You believe that a proper halfling government belongs to none other than the people and that those who are a part of it are not rulers but humble and obedient servants of the village. You hold dear most or all of the following principles, and vote for policies and Elders that promote them:

 

• Democracy: History has made it clear that the best form of government for any civilization is one that is by, of, and for the people. No single halfling should ever wield unchecked authority over all others; the only true basis of government in any society is a mandate from the masses. It is for this reason that a halfling republic is superior to any biggun monarchy; our leaders are in power by the will of the community, not by some abstract divine right such as in Oren, nor by manipulating money such as in Sutica. Those societies are, ultimately, doomed to fail because they reject the natural processes by which leaders emerge and substitute them with made-up gods or material goods such as gold and silver that are only as valuable as a corrupt merchant says they are. 

 

• Republicanism: The halfling government is a public matter, and as such its members should always be elected by the people. Elders exist to serve, represent, and guide; not to rule. The government must answer to the people just as much as the people answer to it, for a government can only exist given the consent of those who are being governed. Some who read this manifesto may consider anarchy to be a better path for society than a democratic republic because a total lack of government eliminates any possibility of tyranny. While anarchy is undoubtedly preferable to tyranny, one must understand that in anarchy, it is impossible to guarantee that everybody’s natural rights are protected. A village devoid of laws is a village without the traditions, customs, and safety that we have come to take for granted. Without a government, there is no way to ensure that halflings are peaceful and proper; that is our nature, but it cannot be assured in chaos. For those halflings who dislike the general concept of government and politics, it is wise to think of it as a sort of agreement between the people and the leaders; the Elders are allowed to make some rules and decisions as long as they protect our natural rights and serve our needs and interests. That is the essence of a republic; a government composed not of funny-dressed men appointed by invisible gods like in Oren but of virtuous leaders chosen by the people.

 

• Community: The achievement of a fair and free society requires the contribution of all citizens, and to this, the halfling nation is no exception. Though some aspects of the Bernardist collectivist sentiment trample on individualism,  there is great wisdom in recognizing that what is good for the village as a whole is also good for the individual halfling. Though no halfling should ever be forced to vote in elections or produce food and goods for the village; doing so improves not only the life of a single halfling but the lives of all halflings. For this reason, it is best that only small trinkets are considered the property of any single halfling and that more important things such as land, food, and services are collectively owned by the entire village. In doing this, the greed that drives so many biggun societies into injustice, tyranny, and eventually ruin is avoided, as would-be corrupt bankers and merchants are left powerless by the more virtuous halfling systems of bartering and collective ownership.

 

• Liberty: Just as Knox instructs his followers to “live unbound”, so too should the Elders protect the right of all halflings to do as they please. The great downfall of Bernardism, aside from its enabling of tyranny, is that it focuses too much on the collective and not enough on the beautiful individuality of each halfling. We are unique in our appearance, thoughts, and ideas, and should be free to express them and enact them in any way we see fit, so long as it does not tread upon the rights of other halflings. Naturally, discussing liberty among halflings leads to the great question of properness. Properness is more than a mere set of traditions; it is the natural state of any halfling, and as such, it is to be expected that every halfling will, at some point in his or her life, embrace it fully. While it is within the authority of the Elders to promote properness by banning shoes or biggun weapons, no individual should ever be directly punished for being improper. Education is a far greater remedy for ignorance than punishment; hate improperness, but love impropers. Only in biggun societies do mistakes go unforgiven, and punished in the most savage and deplorable ways such as beheadings in Oren or acid pitting in Haelun’or.
   

• Equality: All halflings are born free and equal, and are to be treated as such under the law. The greatest faults of biggun societies lie in inequality, for they are societies made up of classes: a toiling poor; a robbing, barrel-scraping merchant class; and often an elite made up of ‘nobles’ and so-called ‘men of god.’ Halflings are free of such distinctions. No halfling is inherently better than any other, and our rejection of mina ensures that we are a society of generosity, not greed; of virtue, not vice. Those who gain any power do so by their own merit, and by the will of those around them; might does not make right. Aristocracy, mercantilism, and capitalism are marks of elitism, and that is what we halflings uniquely avoid.

 

• Agrarianism: In biggun societies, the most virtuous citizens tend to be the common farmers; the ‘poor’ folk of the countryside who graciously produce food both for themselves and for those who have been unjustly placed above them. With that in mind, halfling society is undoubtedly the most virtuous; for it is well known that in the soul of any proper halfling is a deep love for things that grow: we plant seeds in the ground, we raise livestock, we brew, we cook, we create. We are free of the merchants, bankers, and manufacturers that dominate and destroy biggun societies, robbing others blind just to feel the empty satisfaction of having little bits of metal in their pocket.
   

• Freedom of Thought: “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it.” That is the maxim of a free society; diversity of opinions. Though we all like to think our ideas are the best, more often than not compromise is the most useful method of solving any problem. Even if a compromise is not the solution, there is never harm in hearing all sides of an argument. Debate is the lifeblood of a democracy, and the right to disagree is fundamental. Even if one’s ideas contradict everything I have written in this pamphlet, I remain willing to defend their right to speak, and any halfling leader must assume a similar attitude. Dissenting religions, ideologies, and opinions need not be accepted but they must never be shunned or silenced. All speech should be protected so long as it is not harmful to the wellbeing of the community.
   

• Pacifism: We halflings have a long history and tradition of nonviolence. We reject biggun weapons because we mean never to harm others. Any combat a halfling engages in is defensive, and the same principle must be applied to the village as a whole. Under no condition should a halfling go to war in foreign lands; we must reject any form of a military, and rely on the bare minimum for defense, lest we turn into a military state like Oren or Haelun’or.

 

• Self-Sufficiency: Though there are sometimes benefits to trading with bigguns, on a larger scale it is best that the halflings remain divorced from the world economy. We farm primarily for subsistence and the benefit of other halflings. Our goods are not meant to be sold for mina and should be distributed first to other halflings and then only sparingly to bigguns. Biggun merchants are not to be trusted, for they seek more to exploit than to exchange.

 

• Neutrality: Being a plain and quiet folk, we halflings would benefit little from getting entangled in the overly hostile web of intrigue that is biggun politics. The halflings should only engage in diplomacy as is necessary to maintain our own security (such as our arrangement with Elvenesse), and should never take sides in violent conflicts between biggun nations, lest we risk the destruction of our village as we know it  As is the case with biggun merchants, biggun leaders often to seek to exploit, and cannot be trusted too readily beyond providing simple protection. Any diplomatic agreement made between the Elders and foreign leaders must be more beneficial to us than to the foreigners 

 

[NotEvilAtAll 10906]

Spoiler

I love how johnnythewizard was just writing a massive forum post while the rest of the halflings were having a tournament

Filibert Applefoot sighs "Anothah one"

[littyfam 790]

International Shogging Champion Jordan “Jorts” Applebottom sighs, “Anothah one.”

[Moochael 730]

Perry says, "Bruh."