With the four elements of
a liberated federalist model described and explained over the last series of
postings, this posting begins the description and explanation of the model
itself. To remind readers, the four
elements are covenant or compact, equality, communal democracy, and covenant of
reason. Readers are encouraged to visit
those postings – if not read already – and become familiar with these elements. But for now, this blog will proceed with
addressing the model.
This blogger would like to emphasize that what follows in
no way attempts to offer a model suitable for initiating professional
federalist studies in political science.
Instead, the model is meant to provide a starting point, a source of
ideas and questions that would be suitable for designing curricular content
regarding the study of government and politics at the secondary level of
American schools.
The model is made up of three main components: the community, participating entities, and
the association. A visual representation
of the model is depicted in a graphic rendition and can be seen in this
blogger’s book, Toward a Federated Nation.[1] Unfortunately, the platform upon which this
blog appears is not amenable to including that illustration, but the book’s
rendition is well displayed, and the book is inexpensive (available through
Amazon). In any event, readers will be
able to understand what follows without having the graphic version before them.
In general, the model attempts to place the interactive
elements and their aspects in relationship to each other. The model is normative in that it presents an
ideal set of relationships. The model is
also non-specific regarding levels of political activity. That is, the model can be applied to local,
state, regional, or national arrangements, both within and without government.
The model is also situational, depicting situations in
which political actors are confronted with politically challenging
conditions. Therefore, the community,
participating entities, and the association are represented by different
symbols. There are outer boxes, made up of
dashed lines and that symbolically enclose the community in which featured
associations exist – these can be the government or other arrangements such as
churches, schools, corporations, non-incorporated businesses, etc.
An ideal community is characterized by the attributes
identified along the boundary of the model, i.e., they are a functioning
community holding cultural commitment to federalist values to a significant
degree, a set of functioning and interacting institutions, and a community with
moral primacy. Of course, these are
ideal characterizations and worthy, in real life, to pursue their eventuality
to whatever degree possible. They will
be further explained in upcoming postings.
Participating entities can be persons, arrangements (any
organized groups), or associations within the community in which the studied
association exists. For example, that
could be a labor union as a participating entity in the national community
ruled by the US government, which in this example is the association under study.
The center of the model
has an enclosed area that represents the association under study. From that center, arrows emanate to the
entity boxes and represent those bonds that ideally characterize the
relationship between those persons, arrangements, or associations with the
studied association.
The characteristics of those bonds are preferred qualities
such as equality and communal links.
Each entity ideally should extend to the studied association loyalty,
trust, skills, and knowledge. In
exchange, the entity ideally should expect from the association equal standing
and, if needed, allowances so that the entity can viably participate in the expected
processes with the studied association.
To further characterize each entity, it should be afforded
constitutional integrity. That affirmation
refers to the individual or group rights that protect the integrity of each
entity. In terms of how the entity
defines his/her/its station within the relationships denoted in the model,
there are the following types of held qualities: status of entity, its conscience, and its practical
attributes. These last elements identify
the relevant assets and designations that the entity brings to the
association.
The large, central
enclosure, the association, has in its encompassing character (or designation
of its type) reference to its founding agreement which would be in the form of
a compact, covenant, or charter. In
addition, the association ideally should be based on two qualities: qualified majority rule and minority
rights. These are familiar to most
people.
In a more central sense of what an association is – what
type it is – there are characteristics that establish the distinctive
characteristics of the studied association.
Those would be the terms of the specific compact-al, covenantal, or
chartered agreement among its members.
In this last concern, there are three characteristics which are
fraternal ethos (or sense of partnership), elements of communal democracy, and
a deliberative process by which decisions are made.
Not all arrangements are associations; some are merely
arrangements. An association is an
arrangement, making association a subclass under arrangement. Associations need to be sufficiently federalist
in their makeup – such as a sufficient sense of partnership among their members
– to be so considered or defined as an association and not merely an
arrangement.
The final element of the model refers to the specific
conditions that would be studied in an instructional lesson utilizing this
model. That is, a particular lesson
would investigate a case in which the association is confronted by a
politically challenging condition. The
study would apply an analysis of the situation based on the ideals presented by
the model.
Ideally, an association would produce some action that
could be defended as a moral response and one which would portray the
responsibility of the association to uphold the communal well-being of the
community. The condition studied is
represented as an input to the association.
The ideal reaction by the association is illustrated by an output from
the association.
Hopefully, readers will have access to the graphic
illustration of the model, but all of this will be described and explained in
upcoming postings. That material will
review each of the above identified “interactions” among the elements of this
model. Again, readers without the illustration,
this blogger believes, will be able to make sense of the model and how it portrays
the ideas and ideals of the liberated federalist construct. But, truly, feel free to purchase the book, Toward
a Federated Nation, and look at page 230 for the graphic illustration.
[1] Robert Gutierrez, Toward a Federated Nation: Implementing National Civics Standards (Tallahassee,
FL: Gravitas/Civics Books, 2020), 230.
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