Social Republicanism

Social Republicanism was originally a Florencian nationalist ideology that supported the creation and development of a left-orientated federal republic through progressive revolutionary means. The ideology represents a fusion of civic nationalism, workers democracy, and democratic socialist economics within the structure of a liberal republic. It supports political pluralism and individualism, rejecting such concepts as a vanguard party or heavy handed confiscatory policies in regards to private property.

A social republican state seeks the enlightenment of the existing culture and traditions within a free and democratic society. The main organization of this society and smallest organ of government is the local workers', peasents', and citizens' council. The popularly elected national legislature is answerable to the workers' council, while the executive and judicial branches should remain separate, distinct, and democratic. Social republicans promote non-authoritarian socialist economics within the framework of the liberal republic as a means to develop a society that is equal and united.

As of 2020 the Union of Florencian Social Republics is the only nation that claims to be subscribe to social republicanism, which is enshrined into the 1919 Constitution as the official ideology. Though during its earlier inception the UFSR prevented criticism of it's ideology during the violent period of the Scarlet Terror, since the early 1930's free speech has been protected. Though persistent critics of the Florencian Union and perceived reactionary movements can receive harsh government scrutiny and social criticism.

History

Social Republicanism is the brainchild of Lukas Cencius and Juilo Max. The pair published a series of pamphlets and newspaper articles critical of the harsh methods employed by the Velorénsian Empire in subjugating the citizens of the former Shinjin Republic following the War of Unification. These articles expressed Pan-Florencian views and criticized the Empire for slaughtering "fellow Velorénsian brothers and sisters". The publication of these views would result in the exile of both Cencius and Max Up North in 1872. It'd be during their time in exile that the pair would grow further disillusioned with the Empire upon interacting with other radicals, republicans, and intelligentsia that had been analytic or condemning of the regime.

Exchanging views with banished radical abolitionist republicans from Shinjin such as Jan Jae-bong both Cencius and Max would adopt republican and further their Pan-Florencian views. These viewpoints would be articulated in their join political treatise of 1878, For a Florencian Republic, bringing more attention to the growing republican movement in the Empire and themselves. The type of government advocated in For a Florencian Republic would be much closer to the type of republican governments present in Aurora or Zhenia today, then what the Florencian Union would become. However Cencius and Max stressed the importance that the "Florencian identity is neither Achysian nor Zhenia. Neither Vayonist nor Wuist. The Florencian identity ought be all the great peoples bonded over the ideals of liberty...then can can the Florencian people only be truly free from government tyranny."

For a Florencian Republican would land both Cencius and Max in the cross hairs of the Imperial Government, for it was considered both rebellious and treasonous. The Emperor and Autocrat issued a decree they both be arrested and promptly hung, prompting the pair to flee. Max would be killed after a shootout with police on February 4th of 1879. Cencius would famously go into hiding with migrant Lyudic peasants within the interior of the Empire, assuming a false identity. The death of his close compatriot Max and having been reduced to the near serf conditions experienced by the Lyudic peasants would push some of Cencius's views to the left. Divesting into Mutalist and more radical left literature, along with speaking to other exiled or hiding intelligentsia Cencius would articulate and lay the foundation for what would become social republicanism.

On July 5th of 1886 Cencius published Commonwealth and Liberty under the pseudonym Ot redaktsii. The ideas espoused in Commonwealth and Liberty were that the future of the Florencian peoples lay in a republic that would provide for the commonwealth and liberty of the people through an economic structure that will uplift them from serfdom and autocracy. The Florencian toiling class is the mover of history and the material economic conditions of life belong to them, and only them". Furthermore Cencius elaborated that "... a democratic republic can only truly be democratic and free if both the political arena and economic arena are modeled according to the needs of the people. A government should be responsible to and run by the people. In that same way so should the enterprise." However he strayed from the more collective works typical of such left-wing revolutionary talk: "The Florencian people are a patch work of many different unique individuals...and it is the individual's interaction with economy and government that is the smallest organ of governance. This must be protected."

Translated copies of his work would soon be published in Zhenian, Lyudic, and several native languages. Years after Cencius's passing in 1893 from cancer, Commonwealth and Liberty would form the ideological basis for multiple radicalizing parties and groups forming within the empire that sought change or revolution.

The Social Democratic-Republican Labor Party was created in 1898 by Markus Chingo. The party would later adopt the title of the Social Republican League (SRL) and formalize the tenants espoused by Cencius and Max onto it's platform, which it declared to be social republicanism. The disastrous performance of the Empire in the First World War alongside the Great Florencian Blight of 1918 would result in the popular revolution that overthrew the Old Regime and the subsequent provisional republic. The Social Republican League and the similarly ideological agrarian Social Revolutionary parties would form the majority of the government. The Constitution crafted by the provisional government and voted on by referendum would create the Union of Florencian Republics. Thus on November 2nd of 1919, Florencia became the world's first social republican nation.

Definition

Lukas Cencius and Markus Chingo are considered the founders of the ideology, and Cencius it's most notable and influential contributor. Once the Florencian Republics was founded there were other contributors to the development of the ideology into the modern era, but Cencius remains the face of the movement. He cast the republican and Pan-Florencian sentiments of intelligentsia movements in the Empire of the 1870's and '80's into a secular and more revolutionary philosophy. The core basis of social republicanism is Florencian nationalism and workers' self management within a liberal republic. Cencius believed that a popular expression of the people would eventually bring about change, and his works would become the basis of constitution penned by the provisional government in 1918-19.

It's a uniquely Florencian-centric left wing development. Chingo, the founder of the Social Republican League and whose responsible for the infusion of workers' councils into the ideology would declare it "Florencian history and spirit against autocratic and corporate reaction".

Concepts

Florencian Nation

Cencius disagreed with other Pan-Florencians of his time on what constituted the Florencian nation. Contemporaries such as Pearon Ryswi argued that the Elyrian language and Vayonism could be a uniting factor the many different cultures and ethnic groups that made up the then Velorénsian Empire. Cencius and Max both believed that a fair, secular, and federal republican government could unite the "many disparate groups of the empire who are also further united in one thing. Dislike for the current inept autocratic regime". Later after his radicalization Cencius went further. It was his belief that the multiple ethnic groups that constitute the imperial realm could be united in a federal structure that promoted "...fraternal brotherhood and labor alongside the ideals of freedom and liberty".

The Scarlet Terror of the 1920's would manage to hold together the patchwork peoples of the Florencian Republics and quash reactionary or separatist forces. The Empire's decline, increased authoritarianism, and the literal loss of sanity by the last Autocrat ensured the Old Regime would be discredited. The issue the Union found would be managing to hold the people together. Considering the spontaneity the Great Revolution of 1919 and the relatively bloodless democratic transition from provisional government to Union of Florencian Republics, the new regime did at the very least originally have popular support.

During the First Cultural Renaissance of the 1930's the Union government would take great strides to promote miscegenation among it's populace. This policy would be considered well into the 1950's after the Second Great War, when by then more than 20 percent of the population was considered mixed race. The ideals of the revolution united the Florencian people, and perhaps as equally important, so did blood. Some constituent republics initially resisted these programs, but the war brought about a revival of nationalism that ultimately lead to all twelve republics supporting them.

Language would and to some extent continue to be the big dividing factor. The Elyrian and Zhenian languages equally constituted most spoken tongues in the UFR. Lyudic and several native languages each having around 15% of the population being able to speak them. It was decided that in order to placate the republics and avoid accusations of favoritism by the federal government, there would be no official language. Instead Elyrian, Zhenian, Lyudic, and Sosoni are considered national languages. Since 1925 it has been compulsory of Florencian pupils to become semi-fluent in one other tongue. Likewise since that time the federal government is obligated to communicate in all four languages. In practice Modern Standard Elyrian is the working language by the federal bureaucracy. Constituent Republics have the freedom to designate their own official language(s).

Reactionary Classes

According to Cencius the reactionary classes that opposed the Florencian people were both the supporters of the Imperial status quo and regional separatists. Proper change and unity among the Florencian people "would only be capable through a spontaneous example of solidarity" and bring about "success of the progressive revolution". The aristocracy and the supporters of the Emperor were direct enemies of the Florencian people in the sense that they would continue to seek the oppression or subservience of the individual and the masses. And ethnic or religious separatists were as equally dangerous because "If the whole of the Florencian nation is not united then the resource constraints would strangle a progressive revolution in it's cradle".

Though the Old Regime was swept under the rug relatively easily during the Great Revolution, the Florencian Republics would initiate the Scarlet Terror to combat more than a dozen secessionist movements. By 1923 combat moved from violent suppression to a low level insurgency. By 1927 organized separatist movements had all but ceased to exist.

Councilism

Markus Chingo is responsible for synthesizing the idea of workers' councils into the ideology following his creation of the Social Republican League in 1898. Chingo supported the concept of a republic organized along the lines of three branches of government. However he believed that there would still exist a separation between the public and the government, even with political democracy and socialist economics. Chingo believed that the workers' and peasents' council to be the smallest and most democratic expression of governance. In that way municipalities and counties of every constituent republic would be lead by a popularly elected government. These local delegates can and should change often and can be instantly revoked should they lose the confidence of their constituents. Most every constituent republican government is composed of delegates chosen from these local councils. In that way social republicans consider that a greater voice, right, and responsibility is given to the people.

Individualism

Both Cencius and Max from their interactions with exiled intelligentsia from the Shinjin Republic were aware of the possibility the ideal Florencian state they had begun to describe could be corrupted. Independent Shinjin wasn't perfect and continued to practice slavery up until the War of Unification. Though it's republican government provided a building block for them to develop their views off of, they remained cognoscente of the fact tyranny was equally as possible in a republic as in an autocracy. Cencius would continually stress in both For a Florencian Republic and Commonwealth and Liberty that "it is from the people which the government is derived power and it is the people who should have all the power...a democratic and fair government should uplift both the individual and the masses".

It is for this reason and the concerns of the provisional government that an extensive bill of rights was listed to ensure the rights and liberties of the people were enshrined in the constitution. And it is for that reason that the idea of an armed populace and the responsibility to bear arms is considered sacrosanct in the Florencian Republics. Not only to deter foreign invasion but, if necessary and proper, defend the values and ideals of the revolution and social republicanism against government tyranny. Other rights stressed in the constitution are those of the fair labor, healthcare, privacy, assembly, and respect of worship.

Socialism

Both Lukas Cencius and Markus Chingo after him believed that democratic socialism would be the only way the Florencian people could be properly elevated into a new age of enlightenment, freedom, and unity. Though they both didn't necessarily clarify what this meant in detail. As the Florencian Republics have developed and progressed they're socialist economy has changed and adapted over the years to meet the needs of the people. However since the conclusion of the Second World War the Union has been organized as market socialist economy. Most important heavy industries, the commanding heights of the economy, are nationalized as state owned enterprises. Light industry cooperatives and even small scale capitalist businesses are permitted and encouraged as well. The one constant in the socialist economy of the Florencian Republics has been the practice of workers' self management. The federal government alongside the titular republican governments have been steadfast in protecting and ensuring the rights of the workers to organize, unionize, and elect delegates to their councils and most often their managers in the work place.

Controversy

Social Republicanism was originally a Florencian nationalist ideology that supported the creation and development of a left-orientated federal republic through progressive revolutionary means. The ideology represents a fusion of civic nationalism, workers democracy, and democratic socialist economics within the structure of a liberal republic. It supports political pluralism and individualism, rejecting such concepts as a vanguard party or heavy handed confiscatory policies in regards to private property.

A social republican state seeks the enlightenment of the existing culture and traditions within a free and democratic society. This enlightenment and upliftment can either be accomplished through an armed revolution or institutional reform, depending on the circumstances. The main organization of this society and smallest organ of government is the local citizens' council. The popularly elected national legislature is answerable to the citizens' councils, while the executive and judicial branches should remain separate and distinct. Social republicans promote non-authoritarian socialist economics within the framework of a democratic republic as a means to develop a society that is equal and united.

As of 2020 the Union of Florencian Republics is the only nation that claims to be subscribe to social republicanism, which is enshrined into the 1884 Constitution as the official ideology. Though during its earlier inception the UFR prevented criticism of the ideology during the violent period of the Florencian Revolution, since the early 1890's free speech has been protected. Though persistent critics of the Florencian Republics and perceived reactionary movements can receive harsh government scrutiny and social criticism.

Definition

Lukas Cencius and Alej R. Khaik are considered the founders of the social republican ideology. While there are certainly many others such as Chingo and Slorvo who contributed heavily, Cencius is regarded as laying the literary philosophical foundations that Khaik put into practice. Cencius's major works, For a Progressive Republic and Commonwealth and Liberty were instrumental in creating a concise set of concept and ideals that Khaik and his contemporaries would later work towards. Because of this, most social republicans consider Cencius the face of the ideology, while the guerrilla fighter turned charismatic chairman Khaik is regarded as the father of the modern Florencian nation.

Philosophically Cencius took pre-existing republican ideas that had either floundered in both Aurora and the New World (such as the Shinjin Republic) and synthesized these ideas with radical leftist economic theory and fit them into the narrative unfolding in the Empire. Cencius saw his proposed "progressive revolutionary republic" as the natural evolution and final historical development of a true free republic. The core features of this state being Florencian nationalism and democratic socialism within the framework of a democratic republic. As the Velorénsian Empire continued towards it's downwards spiral through ineffectual reforms, rapid social change, rampant industrialization, and unchecked aristocratic and capital ownership, the unique Florencian character of this progressive ideology led to it's popularity and adoption by early revolutionaries. Cencius and those after him supported the overthrow of the ruling class and in it's place a government of the people that uplifted the individual and provided for the greater commonwealth. Something that the subjects of the Empire by the time of Florencian Revolution were well prepared to enact.

It's a uniquely Florencian-centric left wing development. During his time as leader of the Meadowal 16th Movement, Khaik penned the widely popular and illegally mass produced political treatise "What do Social Republicans Want?". In this simple two page pamphlet which listed a set of what would now be considered fairly moderate and reasonable demands, though at the time were an affront to the entire imperial autocratic apparatus, the revolutionary defined social republicanism as "...Florencian spirit against Imperial tyranny and big money slavery. A revolution by the common man and woman for themselves".

Kensiosian Philosophy

Fulfillment

Ludan Kensios identified that the driving force for humanity is to discover fulfillment. As outlined in his editorial contributions to the pro-republican newspaper ''Organ of Democracy'', he asserted that "the individual wishes for nothing less and nothing more than to pursue what activities bring about gaiety". Fulfillment, also characterized as intrinsic happiness, is pursued through what interactions and activities are subjective to an individual that elicits happiness. Kensios held that whatever subjective interactions partaken by an individual that illicit happiness are good, and therefore usher in fulfillment. Therefore this human necessity for fulfillment is what Kensios asserted as the main objective a nation-state must identify in order to uplift the individual. Latter social republican in addition to moralistic philosophers would further elaborate or build off this basic ideal of fulfillment. His contemporary Jan Jae-bong somewhat disagreed with Kensios, though believing a distinction must be made between the actions that invoke happiness and those that ultimately lead to fulfillment. Jae-bong held that intrinsic happiness is achieved by instrumental good. According to historian and social republican writer Valter Speckler, "Instrumental good is a means to an end: Intrinsic good".

Critique of Empire and Regressive Republics

Kensios believed that the feudal structure of society and overbearing nature of the imperial government prevented the individual from achieving fulfillment. The nature of the aristocracy and Emperor prevented the individual the social mobility, time, or ability to express and explore avenues for intrinsic good. The very freedoms and liberties Senkhen believed inherent to all men and women at birth were not present under an imperial system of domination. By the same token not only were citizens under the boot of empire, but capital. By the 1840's Kensios and like minded proto-social republicans had identified that the ruling land owning capitalists in Shinjin and the Mid West were an extension of imperial authority. The mass interment of mestizos and imported Lyudics for cheap labor in plantations by the ruling class had begun to increase. This temporarily placated the anxiety of Elyrian Florencian workers and craftsmen in the Northeast, until the further expansion of industry brought upon worsened living conditions and the introduction of social republican literature onto the factory floors. By which time the Empire had then devolved into revolution.

Regardless Kensios and contemporaries could observe the faults of an oppressive imperial and capitalist system. Though at the same time he recognized that the social structure of humanity and historical precedence necessitates a hierarchy and structure to both furnish and defend the citizens in their pursuit of fulfillment. Therefore a mean would need to be sought between statelessness and the domineering autocracy of nobility and big capital. It was from this viewpoint that he further elaborated his beliefs in Commonwealth and Liberty, where the outlining goal of the state being providing for the common good and defending the right of the citizenry to enjoy themselves in freedom and express their liberties. The foundation for what all concepts of social republicanism emanate from: progressive revolution, common republic, and class, is the individual's want of fulfillment. Social republicans therefore identify that the basis goal intrinsic to the individual is happiness and likewise this should be reflected by the government which enjoys the popular support of the populace. A social republic must juggle the duel needs of provisioning for the commonwealth of it's citizens while ensuring they are free to seek out and express the actions instrumental in their happiness. The founding figures of the Florencian Republics identified this central ideal by cataloging the many liberties, rights, and responsibilities of the populace in the 1884 Constitution in order to ensure the nascent state would respect, defend, and uplift these.

Concepts

Citizens' Republic

Markus Chingo is responsible for synthesizing the idea of workers' councils into the ideology following his creation of the Social Republican League in 1898. Chingo supported the concept of a republic organized along the lines of three branches of government. However he believed that there would still exist a separation between the public and the government, even with political democracy and socialist economics. Chingo believed that the workers' and peasents' council to be the smallest and most democratic expression of governance. In that way municipalities and counties of every constituent republic would be lead by a popularly elected government. These local delegates can and should change often and can be instantly revoked should they lose the confidence of their constituents. Most every constituent republican government is composed of delegates chosen from these local councils. In that way social republicans consider that a greater voice, right, and responsibility is given to the people.

Class

Social Republicanism generally views history as a death struggle between two opposing and broad class categories-revolutionary and reactionary. Both of these classifications can typically be broken down into further specific class specifications. Cencius wrote extensively on the concept of class conflict, which holds that a republic can only truly be considered free and democratic if "the citizenry (revolutionary classes and the citizenry are used interchangeable by him) rise to the historical occasion and build a true peoples' republic, with the reigns of government and capital truly belonging and organized by the people". Essentially the lower and middle rungs of society, the peasant-farmer, industrial worker, and indeed all other laborers and citizens that could not be fit into the category of "reactionary" (which generally included either the aristocracy, large scale capitalists, or moderate republicans depending on the period) could only be uplifted through a progressive revolution. This divide, conflict, and uplifting of the revolutionary classes is central to social republican doctrine. This concept would be enumerated by revolutionaries and latter leaders during the course of Florencia's history. The Florencian Republics would pursue the Civil War through the duel lenses of class conflict and national self-determination. The Great Republican Society movement that was pursued during the early 1900's sought to address perceived shortfalls in the government and bring about greater equity and democratic freedoms. The grass-roots social movements of the First and Second Cultural Renaissance would also expand and work towards similar goals that the government's republican society sought to address.

Variants of social republicanism and indeed historical figures, modern leaders, and the philosophical intelligentsia differ on how the handling of counter-revolutionary elements are to be handled. The chief tenants of social republicanism see that those that appose the greater welfare and freedom of the people, be it through either social, political, or economic means prevent the establishment of a republic freely governed by the people. Leader of the Meadowal 16th Movement and chairman of the provisional government during the revolution Alej R. Khaik argued that the Florencian Revolution could not be successful if those "seeking to combat the natural rights of the citizenry through subversive or armed confrontation are not met with direct and appropriate action". This argument was modeled from Cencius's theory on progressive revolution and peoples' solidarity, which would face confrontation from those who are apart or benefit of an imperial autocracy.

The nascent Union of Florencian Republics following it's creation at the tail end of the revolutionary period saw to either the relocation, reeducation, or evacuation of persons considered to belong to the reactionary classes. As declared by then Chief Commissar Lazarhoffe of the COMPOR and affirmed by radical social republicans within the government, "Counter-revolutionary elements must be uprooted and purged from our new nation so that the revolution, enlightenment, and liberty may live." This would lead to the Scarlet Terror, something that many within Florencia later decried as as revolutionary excess.

Revolutionary Classes

The revolutionary classes as written in social republican philosophy are ordained to rise up in a progressive revolution and establish an enlightened peoples' republic, though the definition of what constitutes the revolutionary class can differ from author to author. Cencius's writings were generally broad in regards to class. Those after him attempted to further define the label and break it up into categories. Vekeran Prout, the main driving force behind the failed Free Akri Republic during Bloody 1879 would describe the revolutionary class as "...anyone with calloused hands, an aching back, or starving gut". Such a description, while extremely broad is generally considered by most all social republican literature and figures as an apt description. Urban workers, rural farmers, those in the service industry, and many others would fall under this representation. Liv Keylen, who was fundamental in orchestrating the RevMil Council during the war against the Imperial Remnant and detracting separatists described the revolutionary classes as "...those who toil. A true citizen is neither the manic Emperor, nor the splendorous nobility, nor the big moneyist slavocrats, nor the rapturous tools of the Imperial Guard".

Evaron T. Slorvo, who would become the Florencian Republics' First Secretary in 1884 would publish a simple description of what categories the Union would consider as the revolutionary classes.

• The Peasantry (Serfs, lower-middle peasants, and rural laborers)
• The Workers (Industrial and urban workers, those in the service industry)
• The Petite bourgeoisie (small scale capitalists with businesses employing between 5-100 persons, alternatively also those who chair a cooperative/collective)

These were basic categories that Slorvo used to define who constitutes the citizenry. It was his belief that soldiers, artists, the intelligentsia, and those in the difficult to define tertiary sector of the economy either emanate from these three categories or can be included in a specific one. Later in the history of the Florencian Republics other writers, activists, or politicians would make an argument this tri-category definition doesn't appropriately include pink collar workers or even white collar workers. However given Slorvo's popularity and usage of these terms by the early Union, they remain the most prolific descriptions for the revolutionary classes.

While "mainstream" social republicanism considers and stresses the equal importance of all three of these classes to the betterment of society, certain variants place greater importance upon certain classes. Geoism, which would grow out of the early agrarian republicans places an emphasis on the farmer and rural localities while at the same time favoring limited de-industrialization. This comes out of a romanticized view of the individual farmer and his local township forming the foundation of nations like Florencia. Whereas councilist social republicans come from an overwhelming urban background and see the worker and industry as the major productive force of any nation. Situaionists differ from both in being that the movement grew out the counter-establishment avant-garde art movement of the 1970's during the Decade of Indignity. Thus fringe intellectuals, artists, and university students consider themselves the driving force of the modern Florencian Republics.

Reactionary Classes

According to Cencius the reactionary classes that opposed the Florencian people were both the supporters of the Imperial status quo and regional separatists. Proper change and unity among the Florencian people "would only be capable through a spontaneous example of solidarity" and bring about "success of the progressive revolution". The aristocracy and the supporters of the Emperor were direct enemies of the Florencian people in the sense that they would continue to seek the oppression or subservience of the individual and the masses. And ethnic or religious separatists were as equally dangerous because "If the whole of the Florencian nation is not united then the resource constraints would strangle a progressive revolution in it's cradle".

Though the Old Regime was swept under the rug relatively easily during the Great Revolution, the Florencian Republics would initiate the Scarlet Terror to combat more than a dozen secessionist movements. By 1923 combat moved from violent suppression to a low level insurgency. By 1927 organized separatist movements had all but ceased to exist.

Economics

Social Republicanism is combined system of both democratic political governance and the social ownership of the means of production. Cencius's writings were largely vague on what would constitute the economic system of a successful progressive revolution. In his treatise Commonwealth and Liberty, Cencius advocated for a so called "United Commonwealth of Toil", were major heavy industries and other services vital to the people would be publicly owned. It was his belief that the commanding heights of the economy would need to be nationalized, yet featuring institutionalized democratic structures in order to safeguard and foster the "elevation of enlightenment, liberty, and life". Naturally following the success of a progressive revolution, the citizenry would be in control of both instruments of labor and subjects of labor, thus casting off both the imperial feudalistic and international bourgeoisie grip on capital. The nationalization of key industries and services can take the form of an administrate system that is centrally dictated and carried out by various government bureaucracies, or the less rigid state owned enterprise system that became the norm in Florencia following the Kosyun Reforms of the late 1960's.

Citizens would be able to self organize in whatever way fulfills the goal of workplace democracy and social ownership in the private light sector. This being retail services, certain foodstuffs, and other basic commodities and goods not under the control of the state. Typically these would take the form of a labor managed firm, employee owned corporation, or something similar.

The revolutionary period of the Florencian Republics would see the nascent social republican federation pursuing what is known as a Maximist Economy, also known as war social republicanism. The Maximist Economy featured rigid central control, in addition to emergency measures that constituted a near ban on private enterprises and tight rationing. One facet of the Maximist Economy was forced pressure on the peasants towards joining together into cooperatives. The large sharecropping plantations or near-feudal open fields system that characterized the pre-revolutionary agricultural sector were transformed into pseudo-cooperatives that were state owned. The aristocrats or wealthy land owners either fled towards the Imperial Remnant, were tried by a Revolutionary Tribune, or where co-opted into the new state. Individual family farms, smaller scale agricultural townships, and ranchers were encouraged to also pool together their resources. These temporary collectivizing measures were done to maximize the efficiency of grain output, and thus feed the ever-expanding Union Army in combating the Imperial Remnant from mounting a counter-revolution. As the war winded down, these measures were relaxed as the Florencian Republics stabilized. The 1930's would see the federal government shying away from collectivization and giving greater power to constituent republican and local authorities. Greater incentives both from the state and private sector encouraged farmers to increase output. Most state owned farms were reformed into locally owned cooperatives. Light industry remained out of the control of the government, leading to the growth of union power and governmental policies enacted to ensure private enterprises abide by the spirit of democratic management and social ownership.

State bureaucracies and departments would continue to expand and control major industrial sectors well into the 1960's, while certain services such as transportation or telecommunications would be reformed into state owned enterprises. Further deregulation and reforms would see the Florencian Republics turn away from the Maximist Economy into what has been coined as the social market economy. The natural monopolies that resulted in the heavy industry increased output, efficiency, and profit, while still serving the national interest and public good. Democratic structures and wage regulation were transplanted from private cooperatives and proved popular and effectual in the state enterprises.

Controversy

There is no controversy. It is the perfect ideology. Ba'athism with more steps. Give me Lions.