The Blueprint
Morals & Ethics
Utilitarianism and Altruism in a Society Based on Subsidiarity and Subsistence
Description
Zivilisation 0 is geared toward creating the greatest possible well-being for all, without giving up individual responsibility or local self-determination. It combines utilitarian thinking (maximizing overall benefit) with altruism (mutual care) and organizes itself according to the principles of subsidiarity (highest protection and self-determination) and subsistence (self-sufficient self-supply).
1. Foundation of values
Utilitarianism Political and economic decisions are evaluated by the contribution they make to general well-being. Not only material factors count here, but also health, education, social participation, ecological stability and mental well-being.
Altruism Society understands solidarity not as compulsion, but as a cultural norm. People recognize that the well-being of the individual is inseparably linked to the well-being of the community. Cooperation is valued more highly than competition.
2. Subsistence as the societal lower limit
Every person has guaranteed access to the basic resources of life: food, housing, healthcare, education, energy and water. This securing of subsistence is unconditional, since it is regarded as a prerequisite for freedom, responsibility and participation in society. Nobody has to justify their existence in order to be allowed to lead a dignified life.
3. Subsidiarity as organizing principle
Decisions are always made at the lowest possible level. Individuals decide about their own lives. Families and neighborhoods organize local matters. Municipalities regulate infrastructure, education and supply. Higher levels intervene only when local solutions are not sufficient. The state is enabling, not dominating.
4. Economic system
The economy is benefit-oriented instead of profit-oriented. Businesses are often cooperatives or keep common-good balance sheets; resource consumption is measured against long-term overall benefit. Work serves both personal development and contribution to society. Productivity is used to reduce suffering and increase quality of life, not to create artificial scarcity.
5. Social coexistence
Status arises from contribution to the common good, not from possessions. Care work, education and ecological stewardship have high social value. Conflicts are resolved primarily through mediation and collective responsibility. Diversity is regarded as a beneficial factor, not as a disruptive one.
6. Freedom and responsibility
Individual freedom is central, but ends where it clearly diminishes overall benefit. Responsibility arises not from compulsion, but from social awareness. Those who are secure can take on responsibility. Those who are included act in solidarity.
7. Long-term perspective
This society thinks across generations - ecological sustainability takes future people into account and promotes education and empathy.
There is no overpopulation.
The problem is not the number of people.
When there is social security, the pressure to have many children falls. Falling child mortality paradoxically leads to fewer births, because parents do not have to have children "in reserve." In the long term and ethically, overpopulation can be brought under control only through voluntary, social and structural measures – not through compulsion or violence. Where people live free, secure and self-determined, the population number almost always stabilizes by itself.
Research and historical experience show very clearly what determines a positive development of the population number:
1. Education – especially for girls and women
The higher the level of education, the lower the average number of children. Education leads to:
- having children later
- better access to information
- more self-determination over one's own life
- These are the most effective factors of all.
2. Voluntary family planning
- Access to contraceptives
- medical education
- Counseling without coercion or stigmatization
Important: People choose voluntarily to have fewer children when they have real choices.
3. Equality
- In societies with more equality:
- women have more control over their lives
- large families are less often necessary.
4. Social security
In poor regions, many children often serve as:
- old-age provision
- labor force
- insurance against illness
5. Subsidiarity as ethics of power
Subsidiarity means self-determination before external determination and local competence before central control.
Identity arises through living together, not through rule.
The identity of Zivilisation 0 would not be defined by fixed state features (nation, government, laws), but by shared values, practices and relationships.
- Rejection of authority as a core value The identity would be strongly shaped by the shared conviction that nobody by nature has the right to rule over others. Power should not be centralized.
- Community instead of state Instead of a national identity ("We are citizens of ..."), there would rather be local or communal identities: collectives, communes, neighborhoods, working groups.
- Voluntariness and self-organization Identity arises through active participation in shaping things: Decisions are made together, cooperation is voluntary. "I am part of it because I take part," not! because I have no other choice".
- Solidarity and mutual aid Many anarchist currents see mutual support as a central identity feature: One defines oneself through responsibility without compulsion.
- Diversity instead of uniformity An anarchist people would presumably have no uniform cultural identity. Different ways of life, values and forms of expression would exist side by side without being subject to a norm.