Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously
Well, as I noted above, the relevant question is whether an article in the Articles of the Federation is the equivalent unit of a a chapter in the U.N. Charter or article in the U.S. Constitution (that is, a large unit containing several sentences or paragraphs on a given topic), or the equivalent unit of an article in the U.N. Charter or a section in the U.S. Constitution (a division of a larger unit usually consisting of only a few sentences).
There are certainly constitutions out there that have lots and lots of the equivalents of the larger units... But, frankly, those ones are bad constitutions. They're constitutions that undertake functions that ought to be left to statutes, and therefore often grow so ridiculously larger and complex that it makes the proper framework for the basic functions of the state tangled and unclear, while also ending up so large that the average citizen cannot read it and understand the basic mechanisms of the state.
Quite a few U.S. state constitutions have ended up like that -- huge documents that undertake all sorts of functions that ought to be left to statute, and therefore end up requiring constant amendment, leaving the basic mechanisms of the functioning of the state in a state of permanent politicization. They are, in short, unreliable documents that really ought to be abolished.
One would hope that the Articles of the Federation are no longer than the U.S. Constitution or U.N. Charter (which are roughly the same length, and both are written fairly clearly for the average citizen), and that its articles, if they number 109, are the equivalent of the shorter units of organization rather than the larger ones.
Sure, the Articles of the Federation deal with multiple planets, but, by the same token, the U.S. Constitution deals with 50 states and the U.N. Charter with 150 Member States. The idea that the Federation practices federalism, leaving its Members largely autonomous, would tend to imply that the Articles wouldn't need to spend too much time trying to incorporate 150 different legal practices at all; it should all be taken care of with, at most, one larger division (the U.S. Constitution article/U.N. Charter chapter equivalent) outlining the basic rules for how power is to be divided between the Federation government and its Member State governments, and then leaving the rest to statute.
Well, as I noted above, the relevant question is whether an article in the Articles of the Federation is the equivalent unit of a a chapter in the U.N. Charter or article in the U.S. Constitution (that is, a large unit containing several sentences or paragraphs on a given topic), or the equivalent unit of an article in the U.N. Charter or a section in the U.S. Constitution (a division of a larger unit usually consisting of only a few sentences).
There are certainly constitutions out there that have lots and lots of the equivalents of the larger units... But, frankly, those ones are bad constitutions. They're constitutions that undertake functions that ought to be left to statutes, and therefore often grow so ridiculously larger and complex that it makes the proper framework for the basic functions of the state tangled and unclear, while also ending up so large that the average citizen cannot read it and understand the basic mechanisms of the state.
Quite a few U.S. state constitutions have ended up like that -- huge documents that undertake all sorts of functions that ought to be left to statute, and therefore end up requiring constant amendment, leaving the basic mechanisms of the functioning of the state in a state of permanent politicization. They are, in short, unreliable documents that really ought to be abolished.
One would hope that the Articles of the Federation are no longer than the U.S. Constitution or U.N. Charter (which are roughly the same length, and both are written fairly clearly for the average citizen), and that its articles, if they number 109, are the equivalent of the shorter units of organization rather than the larger ones.
Sure, the Articles of the Federation deal with multiple planets, but, by the same token, the U.S. Constitution deals with 50 states and the U.N. Charter with 150 Member States. The idea that the Federation practices federalism, leaving its Members largely autonomous, would tend to imply that the Articles wouldn't need to spend too much time trying to incorporate 150 different legal practices at all; it should all be taken care of with, at most, one larger division (the U.S. Constitution article/U.N. Charter chapter equivalent) outlining the basic rules for how power is to be divided between the Federation government and its Member State governments, and then leaving the rest to statute.
