53. On Co-Governance:The Path to a Democratic Society of Universal Harmony

If co-governance can be achieved, equality will surely follow; if equality can be achieved, democracy will surely follow.

When society is governed collectively by its citizens, it means everyone is a steward of society. When everyone is a steward, it means every citizen is equal. When every citizen is equal, the freedom of citizens and the fairness of society are realized. A society that is equal, free, and fair is inevitably a truly democratic society.

From the perspective of social governance, at any given time, society is always managed by a minority over the majority. This structure of social governance cannot be altered. Given this reality, how can a society of shared governance—where everyone is a social administrator—be realized? The key lies in how we select the minority responsible for social administration. Under autocratic rule, these few are primarily appointed by monarchs or dictators, often with legitimate hereditary succession; who becomes a social administrator depends entirely on the ruler's will. In modern democratic systems, these few are mainly elected, yet who qualifies as an electable candidate remains determined by the ruling class. Thus, both authoritarian states and modern democracies exhibit pronounced class stratification. For those born into the lower strata, breaking through class barriers to ascend to higher classes invariably proves arduous and fraught with obstacles. Though modern democracy represents significant progress over authoritarian rule, it has made little advancement in preventing the solidification of social classes. This is the class-based society we have grown accustomed to and often take for granted—but a co-governed society is different.

In a co-governed society, every individual possesses equal opportunity to attain positions of social stewardship. Whether one secures their desired role depends solely on innate talent and diligent effort, not birthright. Here, class restrictions and class rigidity are absent. All stand at the same competitive starting line; what matters is harnessing one's talents and outcompeting rivals through capability. Thus, the minority entrusted with social stewardship in a co-governed society emerges through free competition among all citizens within a fair environment. In this competitive process, everyone has equal opportunity. Since everyone has a chance, it means everyone is participating in managing society. You might find this conclusion unconvincing, as the winners of competition are always a minority, and in practice, it still seems like a minority manages society. But don't worry: the winners of competition don't guarantee their children will also be outstanding, and the losers don't mean their children will remain unremarkable. When the children of these individuals compete again, the outcomes will shift. In short, as long as social class rigidity is prevented, the minority who serve as society's managers will perpetually remain in a state of fluid competition. Over time, either I or my descendants will inevitably attain the role of societal manager. Thus, a co-managed society institutionally ensures every citizen receives equal treatment and equal opportunity to attain any public position. The final social standing of each citizen depends solely on the outcome of free competition among citizens.

To realize the above principles of a co-governed society, the following systems must be implemented:

1. Society assumes the obligation to support its citizens. Specifically, this entails providing a uniform, nationally standardized child support allowance to minor citizens, without regionally differentiated treatment. Only thus can all citizens receive relatively equitable treatment when unable to support themselves independently, preventing the disadvantages parents face in social competition from being directly passed to the next generation. This ensures each generation competes within a consistently fair environment. We have previously discussed citizen support in our essay "On the Upbringing of Citizens."

2. Society provides free lifelong education. Free education guarantees every citizen access to learning opportunities. Lifelong education ensures every citizen has the opportunity to re-choose their career. The purpose of education is to enable citizens to acquire knowledge and skills through learning, thereby improving their ability to work. Therefore, education must fully consider the future needs of citizens in their work, making vocational education the core of social education. In this era where survival is impossible without education, only when citizens have equal opportunities to obtain fair education can they compete in a fair environment. We have discussed the issue of citizen education in our article "On Education."

III. Society should bear the primary medical expenses of its citizens. The suffering endured by patients due to illness already places them at a disadvantage in social competition. If patients are further burdened with financial hardship, this undoubtedly exacerbates their competitive disadvantage. Therefore, society bearing citizens' medical costs is a crucial measure to ensure fair competition. However, to prevent over-treatment, a completely free healthcare system should not be implemented. We have discussed this issue in our essay "On Healthcare."

IV. Society should bear citizens' retirement and social security obligations. Addressing citizens' retirement burdens not only alleviates their concerns about participating in social competition but also stimulates consumption, thereby benefiting economic development. Providing assistance to citizens facing unemployment, accidents, or disasters prevents such misfortunes from severely impairing their social competitiveness. Offering support to citizens unable to work normally due to disability reflects society's fundamental humanity. We have discussed retirement issues in our article "On Retirement."

V. Society must abolish the inheritance system. As long as inheritance is permitted—whether of power or property—society will rapidly become class-rigid. Once class rigidity sets in, fairness ceases to exist. Therefore, the inheritance system must be abolished. Regarding the inheritance of power, while modern democratic societies have formally abolished it, the retention of property inheritance has led to the persistence of hidden power inheritance (the existence of political dynasties being clear evidence). This is one of the fundamental reasons why modern democracies have generally failed to achieve true democracy. Therefore, to address the harms of inheritance, the co-governed society must completely abolish the inheritance system. We have discussed the issue of the inheritance system in our essay "On Inheritance."

VI. Establishing Equal Channels for Citizen Participation in Governance. Social governance comprises three categories: formulating social rules (legislation), enforcing social rules (law enforcement), and upholding social rules (judiciary). Regarding legislation, citizens must be guaranteed equal opportunities to become legislators, thereby exercising legislative power in their capacity as legislators. Simultaneously, citizens must be assured direct exercise of veto power, amendment power, repeal power, and creation power, thereby achieving citizen co-governance in the formulation of social rules. This issue has been addressed in our essay "On Legislation." Regarding law enforcement, our essay "On Official Selection" has discussed that the selection of public officials should employ both the imperial examination system and the electoral system. Officials such as county magistrates and mayors should be directly appointed through the examination system, while officials such as governors and presidents should be elected. Regardless of the system employed, all citizens must be guaranteed equal opportunities for selection as officials to meet the requirements of citizen co-governance. Regarding the judiciary, every citizen must likewise be assured equal opportunities for selection as judicial personnel in the courts.

VII. Upholding a Fair Market Environment and Encouraging Citizens to Establish Enterprises. In the essay "On Enterprises," we have already discussed that enterprises are the most vital social organizations. Without enterprises, nothing else exists; they form the foundation for society's normal functioning. Therefore, a co-governed society must ensure that all citizens can freely and equally establish enterprises under fair conditions, while fully respecting the rights of business owners to manage their enterprises. Social laws should exercise maximum restraint in interfering with business operations and make every effort to treat all enterprises equally. Furthermore, as discussed in "On Exploitation" and "On Unearned Income," business owners accumulate wealth by exploiting society through enterprise creation. This form of unearned income benefits societal development and represents the most deserving and protected form of exploitation.

VIII. Fully safeguard citizens' labor rights. Regardless of how much entrepreneurship is encouraged, business owners will always constitute a minority in society, while the majority are employees working for enterprises. Therefore, in a co-governed society, it is essential not only to protect the autonomous management rights of enterprises but also to safeguard the rights of employees. On issues concerning core employee needs—such as labor safety, working hours, rest and vacation time, and minimum wage—the law must establish strict minimum standards. Enterprises must never be permitted to violate these legal provisions in any manner; otherwise, business owners will face severe penalties. We have also addressed this issue in our essay "On Enterprises."

IX. Institutional Design of the Co-Governed Society Must Remain Vigilant Against Unearned Income. In any society, if individuals can legally and hereditarily obtain income without contributing labor, that society will inevitably collapse—and the co-governed society is no exception. Therefore, under a co-governed social system, unearned gains must be restricted in two directions: first, limiting the population size of those receiving unearned benefits, ensuring their proportion remains consistently low; second, absolutely prohibiting hereditary unearned benefits to prevent the solidification of a privileged class, keeping the group receiving unearned benefits in a state of constant flux. Only those who contribute to society should be eligible for unearned benefits. Thus, vigilance against and restriction of unearned benefits form a fundamental principle of the co-governance system. Any specific institutional design and implementation must fully consider this principle; otherwise, the co-governance society will inevitably be destroyed by unearned benefits. The dangers of unearned benefits have been thoroughly discussed in our essay "On Unearned Benefits."

The first, second, third, and fourth elements of the aforementioned institutional framework aim to ensure relatively equal competitive conditions for every citizen. The fifth element prevents the solidification of class structures. The sixth, seventh, and eighth elements guarantee citizens' free and equal participation in social competition. The ninth element safeguards the co-governance system against erosion by unearned gains.

Through the implementation of these institutions, we have outlined the blueprint for a co-governance society. We must strive to ensure that everyone entering society to participate in free competition starts with fundamentally comparable conditions, minimizing disparities stemming from differences in background. Once in society, each individual should soar freely like a bird in the sky, unleashing their talents to pursue the life they desire. Where one ultimately stands in society—whether in their dream profession or possessing considerable wealth—depends on their innate abilities, effort, and perhaps a measure of luck. In old age, whether one lived an ordinary life or achieved extraordinary success, everyone should be able to spend their remaining years with dignity. In short, regardless of who your parents are, you must rely solely on yourself throughout your life.