The following is not so much a manifesto as a statement of core beliefs that I have formulated in the last few years. I have come up with a term, the Global Conservative, which pretty well summarizes my position. I hope that I can continue to change this list as my level of understanding and knowledge grows and matures.
I am a global conservative.
I believe that religions, families, cultures, and languages share their authority with the state rather than derive their rights from it, and that the state should refrain from altering or interfering with them except to protect human dignity.
I believe that people have the right to enjoy the fruits of the labor and should not have their property rights taken from them or diminished except for the safety of others.
I believe that people should be free to travel, do business, and settle wherever in the world they choose, and that no person should be denied the right to work in a place where products from his home country are sold.
I believe that freedom of trade without freedom of movement is modern-day mercantilism.
I believe that international structures should enforce the rule of law and the protection of human dignity throughout the world, that these international bodies should consist of representatives directly elected by the people, and that violations of peace, human rights, and contract should be treated as criminal, rather than political, offenses.
I believe that environmental protection is a global matter that should be settled by international governing bodies of democratically elected members.
I believe that democracy is the best protection of natural rights, which derive not from the state, but from our Creator.
I believe that labor should be organized to protect the rights of workers and to combine their efforts for mutual benefit.
I believe that scientific knowledge belongs to the whole of humanity, and that all such knowledge should be made available to all people throughout the world.
I believe that consumerism is the greatest threat to public morals and integral human development, and should be counterbalanced by laws which promote public decency, modesty, and self-sufficient lifestyles.
I believe that parents are the primary educators of their children, and that states should seek to support, not control, them as they carry out this task.
I believe that we all have the right to active citizenship at the local, regional, national, and global levels.
I believe that we are all one race: the children of God.
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