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Extropia: Common Laws?

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Lurkingdaemon Lurkingdaemon's picture
Extropia: Common Laws?
So Extropia is a combination of a paradise/nightmare of pure free trade, where even basic human rights can only be secured by contract. It begs the question: do Extropian legal firms and security contractors have an agreed upon set of 'common laws' or charters of rights that everyone agrees to uphold, officially or in a more de-facto manner, simply to maintain a 'baseline' between the various groups? More interested from a lore/fluff standpoint, and because I may or may not be experimenting with Extropian characters in the near/immediate future.
Daemon-Dynamics Projects: 2nd Edition [url=http://eclipsephase.com/2nd-edition-morph-creation]Morph Creation Rules[/url] [hr]
R.O.S.S.-128 R.O.S.S.-128's picture
Certain Necessities
I can think of a few baseline things that would pretty much be necessary for the system to function at all, so they'd probably be fairly universal. For example, the integrity of the contracts would have to be upheld or else the contracts themselves would be worthless and the system would fall apart. The right to property falls into a similar category. You cannot trade what you do not own, therefore property rights must be an absolute in a trade-based system. Since you cannot enter a contract or own further property if you do not first own yourself, self-ownership would also be a necessary condition that cannot be removed. A considerable number of basic human rights could probably be further derived from the combination of property rights and the principle of self-ownership. For example, assault or murder would be a no-go because you are damaging that person's property, ie their body. So those three principles are likely to be essentially immovable pillars of Extropian law, non-negotiable by virtue of their necessity. When you further consider how those three principles interact, a surprising amount of common law could reasonably emerge.
End of line.
Kojak Kojak's picture
Though it's not canon, I
Though it's not canon, I found Anders Samberg's Guide to Extropia to be exceptionally clarifying.
"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head." - Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop
Lurkingdaemon Lurkingdaemon's picture
A couple points:
A couple points:
Quote:
For example, the integrity of the contracts would have to be upheld or else the contracts themselves would be worthless and the system would fall apart.
This is all but confirmed by the mention of courts/security firms getting their reps trashed (possibly irreparably) if they don't honor the contracts of other courts/firms.
Quote:
The right to property falls into a similar category. You cannot trade what you do not own, therefore property rights must be an absolute in a trade-based system.
Makes sense. The only concern I can think of would be more 'flexible' interpretations of 'ownership rights' which could crop up. Granted murkiness like that might get clarified by a courts natural inclination to rule for an option that's safe for the court - in addition to being within the letter of the contract.
Quote:
Since you cannot enter a contract or own further property if you do not first own yourself, self-ownership would also be a necessary condition that cannot be removed.
This is a good point, but it's been made clear in fluff excerpts that Extropian contracts are not shy about Indentured servitude as an appropriate way to pay off debts/punish folks that default. This gets into more grey area that could be subject to unfortunate interpretations.
Quote:
Though it's not canon, I found Anders Samberg's Guide to Extropia to be exceptionally clarifying.
I am not aware of this guide, where might it be found?
Daemon-Dynamics Projects: 2nd Edition [url=http://eclipsephase.com/2nd-edition-morph-creation]Morph Creation Rules[/url] [hr]
Maudova Maudova's picture
Kojak wrote:Though it's not
Kojak wrote:
Though it's not canon, I found Anders Samberg's Guide to Extropia to be exceptionally clarifying.
Link?
~Alpha Fork Initialized. P.S. I often post from my phone as I travel extensively for work. Please forgive typos and grammar issues.
ubik2 ubik2's picture
Probably from here. There are
Probably from here. There are several articles in the Extropia section, though I'm not certain which was being referenced.
Kojak Kojak's picture
Well, since I can't seem to
Well, since I can't seem to find it on Anders' site, here's a link to the doc from my Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BziPp_CvWNf4U2xSV3lzRFhMYU0
"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head." - Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop
ubik2 ubik2's picture
Thanks, that's much cooler
Thanks, that's much cooler than I expected.
Lurkingdaemon Lurkingdaemon's picture
Cool read - but...
That's a pretty cool article, although after reading and thinking on it, it rubs me the wrong way. Here's why: A lot of the writing goes on about how the different firms/groups/etc would actively go out of their way to get things done. This bugs me because, elsewhere in the EP fluff, there's a general feeling from lots of the Hypercorps and other large polities that's basically "Ignore it until it becomes a problem". I can't help but think the writing, good as it is, is possibly too hopeful or optimistic a take on the Extropian system. My personal feeling in the examples provided, all the participants would be involved proactively insofar as to keep any one transaction from becoming a problem. It wouldn't be (and isn't in some of the official examples) unheard of for larger entities to flaunt their towering rep in ways that get under others skin for profit. If anyone doesn't like it, they can suck it (the AGI judge comes to mind). That's my take though. Since the Extropian system isn't built up very much in books (that I've read) it's hard to get a good read for how things would work.
Daemon-Dynamics Projects: 2nd Edition [url=http://eclipsephase.com/2nd-edition-morph-creation]Morph Creation Rules[/url] [hr]
jackgraham jackgraham's picture
My favorite fictional example
My favorite fictional example is the society in The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod. Al Amarja in Over the Edge could also be an inspiration, if you wanted to make it surreal and not take the anarchocapitalist concept seriously. :)
J A C K   G R A H A M :: Hooray for Earth!   http://eclipsephase.com :: twitter @jackgraham @faketsr :: Google+Jack Graham
Sleeper Service Sleeper Service's picture
The section of Extropia that
The section of Extropia that really captured my attention was The Pits. The very nature of the extropian system makes social sercurity a low priority issue. You pay your way. God help you if you don't because no one else will. There might be a few wealthy anarcho-capitalists with more "altruistic" intentions but on the whole, those who slip through the cracks are left on their own. Since Extropia takes an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude towards this issue, The Pits must be a hotbed of X-Risk activity or Extropia Now has a contract with Firewall to deal with this problem.