Tiandao

Tiandao (Chinese: 天道; pinyin: Tiāndào, meaning "Heaven's Way") is the official ideology of The Empire of Amenria. The first ideas that would spawn it came to the mind of the first Heavenly Emperor of Amenria, Tianshi, around 2018, but is considered "founded" as a complete ideology in 2030 with his publishing of A Nation's Road to Enlightenment: the 56 Principles, the book that defines and outlines the thoughts around the ideology.

Tiandao was defined in the aforementioned book as an ideology that aims to establish and maintain a moral, just, prosperous, and advanced society under a leader who derives his/her authority from God's will. It has thus been characterized as an authoritarian centrist ideology with emphasis on religion, order, technological developments and technocracy and moderatism, although its economic stance has been described as left-leaning by some.

Etymology

The name Tiandao was chosen as it was created as a means for a leader to rule as the representative of God wherever they may be, and take both themselves and their subjects to "a blessed and meaningful existence" in their current lives, and Heaven in their next.

Tenets

Authority

At its core, Tiandao is an authoritarian ideology as it emphasizes the concentration of power on a select few, culminating in the head of government, which in Amenria's case is the Heavenly Emperor. Under Tiandao, the individuals are carefully screened before joining the government, and are further filtered as they climb the ranks of their respective organizations. The higher one's standing in society, the higher the standard of morality (s)he is held to.

Moderatism

Tiandao considers extremes to be undesirable, encouraging moderation in all things.

Globalism

Tiandao does not consider itself as a permanent solution to society's ills. Instead, it serves to guide sentient beings of the current era to the inevitable point where society has progressed past the need for multiple states in one planet and where the average citizen has reached a level of wisdom and morality to be trusted with a chance at governance. When a unified planet under a benevolent leader has been achieved, Tiandao is considered to have succeeded.

Pacifism

While Tiandao sees war and violence in general to be a component of sentience and cannot be ended lest every sentient life form in the multiverse ceases to exist, it considers violence as a last resort. It values all life and encouages one to do no harm with one's words or actions except in situations where it is absolutely necessary for self-defence. It is for this reason that the Imperial Amenrian Armed Forces is rarely used offensively, and in cases where it is, it is done to contain multiversal threats.

Criticism

Libertarianism

Tiandao has been criticized as "a libertarian ideology wearing the skin of a authoritarian one", with its neutral stance on several issues and non-existent stance on others.