Premises

These premises come in two groups: premises for the lifestance, and premises with respect to governance.

Premises for the lifestance of the paraliberal view

Basic premise on autonomy

Premise 1 is a belief in the individual's ability for autonomy, that is, for independent thinking and acting using knowledge and reason, and guided by responsible values ​​and guidelines.

In this wording, the word 'responsible' may mean that the relevant the values ​​and approaches express an ability both for empathizing with individual fellow human beings, for solidarity within a group, and for practical action when it comes to meeting global challenges. The term 'reason' subsumes logical and rational thinking as well as common sense and intermediate forms between these styles of thinking.

Value culture and value communities

Premise 2 is a belief in the need for a vital value culture in society. This means that there should be an open and lively debate on values, a debate in which differing opinions can be expressed forward, broken against each other, and always treated respectfully. Eating and labeling of those who have opposing views towards oneself must be completely foreign to a good culture of values.

This premise is based on a perception that people's values ​​are important from the point of view of society, and not only from the individual's own, and further that these values ​​are shaped and developed in and by the society in which one lives.

Values and cardinal values

Premise 3. Now that values ​​are formed and developed in a value culture, it claims the third premise that every state needs to have certain society-founding values which are accepted by the majority of citizens. That should include such values which are important for the state and society to function well. This is discussed more in detail in the next chapter.

Some of the societal values ​​should also be included or some cardinal values, that is, such values ​​as sets an overall goal for human existence. If any once a contradiction arises between one cardinal valuation and another valuation, it is the latter that should primarily be reconsidered. But it hinders not that even cardinal values can be reconsidered if there are enough strong reasons for this.

Premise 4 states one such cardinal value, namely, the objective for human society that each individual shall be able to develop her abilities as far as possible, and in particular her capacity for autonomy. This premise expresses an expectation that all individuals shall have adopted this value, and also a guideline for the organization of society. It is expected that both the individual and society shall contribute to the stated goal.

Mutual values and attitudes

The following additional premises refer to values ​​and guidelines that contribute to the overall goal in premise 4, ie. the stated cardinal value.

Premise 5 argues the great importance of an open mind, both towards other people and towards new knowledge and new opinions. Openness to others also includes empathy. Openness and empathy are prerequisites for the purpose stated in premise 3, and also for the debates in a value community. In that context, it is especially important that the members of a value community do not merely have an open mind towards its other members, but also towards facts, opinions and values ​​that arrive from the outside.

Premise 6 applies to the related terms solidarity and trust . People's ability for responsible values ​​and guidlines is often exercised on an individual level and in concrete situations, but it contributes also to trust and solidarity within larger or smaller groups. On a national level, both trust and solidarity are important in themselves, but also since these characteristics interact with the common values in a mutually reinforcing way.

The freedoms and rights of citizens

Premise 7 is a principled position in favor of civil liberties and rights, ie the freedoms, rights, and also obligations that shall apply to every citizen of a society, and that constitute an important part of the values ​​there.

The term civil rights is arguably more correct than human rights because it largely concerns rights that are to be guaranteed by a state, and which do not come about by themselves.

Well-known and widely accepted lists of human rights belong under this premise. However, value liberalism itself is not committed to any particular list of civil rights since the view of these may differ due to local conditions, and they may also develop over time.

Premise 9. Activities that propose and debate rational and well-considered changes in attitudes and values are to be considered as being part of the value culture, and as such they shall have the same liberties and the same restrictions as other activities in the public discourse.

Premise 8 follows under the next heading. The numbering reflects the order in which these premises are introduced and explained in the Monograph.

Global sustainability

The following is proposed as a second cardinal value, beside the goal of human autonomy. It shall be seen as a premmise both for the lifestance and for the view of governance.

Premise 8 establishes global sustainability as a second cardinal value, and states that it is an overarching goal for mankind that it shall nurture and preserve all the unique properties of the planet Earth, for the benefit of all its inhabitants, both now and in the future.

The extreme importance of this goal is well known in our time, but it is essentially a new phenomenon, and it is understandable that previous philosophers have not considered it. This applies not only to classical thinkers like Aristotle, but also to the philosophers of the latest centuries. At present, however, this goal has obtained a significance that will require reflection and renewal even in the realm of philosophy.

The expression paraliberal lifestance shall be taken to mean an approach to fundamental issues in life that includes what is said in premises 1 through 9.

Premises with respect to national governance

While the paraliberal view emphasizes the concept of value-based autonomy for individuals, it also proposes to apply the same concept for nation-states. They shall also be considered to have an ability for independent action based on democratic decisions, as well as knowledge and reason, and for being guided by responsible values and attitudes that are held in common with other nation-states. The following premises are an attempt to formulate this general idea in more precise terms.

Premise 10. In order to meet the cardinal goals of human autonomy and global sustainability in the best possible way, humanity shall be organized in terms of sovereign states, each of which having its own territory, and each also having its own population that in principle resides in that territory. Moreover, it is desirable that these sovereign states should adopt these two goals as their own, Sovereign states that have adopted these cardinal goals shall be called autonomous states.

This premise explicitly rejects the idea of a global government that is sometimes proposed, for example as a way of achieving global sustainability.

Premise 11 is a conviction that if most of the citizens in a sovereign state are autonomous individuals, then they are able to endow the state as such with a capacity of autonomy in the same sense.

Premise 12. In a paraliberal nation-state, all citizens that concur with its society-founding values shall be considered as members of its nation, and of being equals in that respect. No one may be excluded from the value community of the nation against her will or for no valid reason. At the same time, the state must accept that there may be some citiparaliberalismzens that have freely chosen not to agree with the society-founding values. They are citizens nonetheless, but their choice is a valid reason why they shall not be considered as members of the nation.

This premise is based on the definition of a nation as "a value community for society-founding values that has established, or wishes to establish a state that is organized according to these values". Such a state will be called a nation-state, and the collection of its society-founding values will be called its democratic code.

Premise 13. Each paraliberal nation-state shall be governed using representative democracy, which means that all important decisions are made by instances that have been selected by universal suffrage and secret voting. Citizens that have chosen not to be included in the nation can not be excluded from voting for that reason; they shall have a full right to vote.

Premise 14. A paraliberal nation-state must be based on two interdependent resources, namely, its democratic code and its laws. The foremost purpose of both of these shall be to protect the integrity, the autonomy, and the civic rights of all members of the population, and to actively support efforts towards the sustainability goal.