The British Study Edition of the Urantia Papers

^72:8.4 2. Schools of philosophy. These schools are affiliated with the temples of philosophy and are more or less associated with religion as a public function.

^72:8.5 3. Institutions of science. These technical schools are co- ordinated with industry rather than with the educational system and are administered under 15 divisions.

^72:8.6 4. Professional training schools. These special institutions provide the technical training for the various learned professions, 12 in number.

^72:8.7 5. Military and naval schools. Near the national headquarters and at the 25 coastal military centres are maintained those institutions devoted to the military training of volunteer citizens from 18 to 30 years of age. Parental consent is required before 25 in order to gain entrance to these schools.

9. THE PLAN OF UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE

^72:9.1 Although candidates for all public offices are restricted to graduates of the state, regional, or federal schools of statesmanship, the progressive leaders of this nation discovered a serious weakness in their plan of universal suffrage and about 50 years ago made constitutional provision for a modified scheme of voting which embraces the following features:

^72:9.2 1. Every man and woman of 20 years and over has 1 vote. Upon attaining this age, all citizens must accept membership in two voting groups: They will join the first in accordance with their economic function — industrial, professional, agricultural, or trade; they will enter the second group according to their political, philosophic, and social inclinations. All workers thus belong to some economic franchise group, and these guilds, like the noneconomic associations, are regulated much as is the national government with its threefold division of powers. Registration in these groups cannot be changed for 12 years.

^72:9.3 2. Upon nomination by the state governors or by the regional executives and by the mandate of the regional supreme councils, individuals who have rendered great service to society, or who have demonstrated extraordinary wisdom in government service, may have additional votes conferred upon them not oftener than every 5 years and not to exceed 9 such superfranchises. The maximum suffrage of any multiple voter is 10. Scientists, inventors, teachers, philosophers, and spiritual leaders are also thus recognized and honoured with augmented political power. These advanced civic privileges are conferred by the state and regional supreme councils much as degrees are bestowed by the special colleges, and the recipients are proud to attach the symbols of such civic recognition, along with their other degrees, to their lists of personal achievements.

^72:9.4 3. All individuals sentenced to compulsory labour in the mines and all governmental servants supported by tax funds are, for the periods of such services, disenfranchised. This does not apply to aged persons who may be retired on pensions at 65.

^72:9.5 4. There are 5 brackets of suffrage reflecting the average yearly taxes paid for each half-decade period. Heavy taxpayers are permitted extra votes up to 5. This grant is independent of all other recognition, but in no case can any person cast over 10 ballots.

^72:9.6 5. At the time this franchise plan was adopted, the territorial method of voting was abandoned in favour of the economic or functional system. All citizens now vote as members of industrial, social, or professional groups, regardless of their residence. Thus the electorate consists of solidified, unified, and intelligent groups who elect only their best members to positions of governmental trust and responsibility. There is one exception to this scheme of functional or group suffrage: The election of a federal chief executive every 6 years is by nation-wide ballot, and no citizen casts over one vote.

^72:9.7 ¶ Thus, except in the election of the chief executive, suffrage is exercised by economic, professional, intellectual, and social groupings of the citizenry. The ideal state is organic, and every free and intelligent group of citizens represents a vital and functioning organ within the larger governmental organism.

^72:9.8 The schools of statesmanship have power to start proceedings in the state courts looking toward the disenfranchisement of any defective, idle, indifferent, or criminal individual. These people recognize that, when 50% of a nation is inferior or defective and possesses the ballot, such a nation is doomed. They believe the dominance of mediocrity spells the downfall of any nation. Voting is compulsory, heavy fines being assessed against all who fail to cast their ballots.

10. DEALING WITH CRIME

^72:10.1 The methods of this people in dealing with crime, insanity, and degeneracy, while in some ways pleasing, will, no doubt, in others prove shocking to most Urantians. Ordinary criminals and the defectives are placed, by sexes, in different agricultural colonies and are more than self-supporting. The more serious habitual criminals and the incurably insane are sentenced to death in the lethal gas chambers by the courts. Numerous crimes aside from murder, including betrayal of governmental trust, also carry the death penalty, and the visitation of justice is sure and swift.

^72:10.2 These people are passing out of the negative into the positive era of law. Recently they have gone so far as to attempt the prevention of crime by sentencing those who are believed to be potential murderers and major criminals to life service in the detention colonies. If such convicts subsequently demonstrate that they have become more normal, they may be either paroled or pardoned. The homicide rate on this continent is only 1% of that among the other nations.

^72:10.3 Efforts to prevent the breeding of criminals and defectives were begun over 100 years ago and have already yielded gratifying results. There are no prisons or hospitals for the insane. For one reason, there are only about 10% as many of these groups as are found on Urantia.

11. MILITARY PREPAREDNESS

^72:11.1 Graduates of the federal military schools may be commissioned as “guardians of civilization” in 7 ranks, in accordance with ability and experience, by the president of the National Council of Defence. This council consists of 25 members, nominated by the highest parental, educational, and industrial tribunals, confirmed by the federal supreme court, and presided over ex officio by the chief of staff of co-ordinated military affairs. Such members serve until they are 70 years of age.

^72:11.2 The courses pursued by such commissioned officers are 4 years in length and are invariably correlated with the mastery of some trade or profession. Military training is never given without this associated industrial, scientific, or professional schooling. When military training is finished, the individual has, during his 4 years’ course, received one half of the education imparted in any of the special schools where the courses are likewise 4 years in length. In this way the creation of a professional military class is avoided by providing this opportunity for a large number of men to support themselves while securing the first half of a technical or professional training.

^72:11.3 Military service during peacetime is purely voluntary, and the enlistments in all branches of the service are for 4 years, during which every man pursues some special line of study in addition to the mastery of military tactics. Training in music is one of the chief pursuits of the central military schools and of the 25 training camps distributed about the periphery of the continent. During periods of industrial slackness many thousands of unemployed are automatically utilized in upbuilding the military defences of the continent on land and sea and in the air.

^72:11.4 ¶ Although these people maintain a powerful war establishment as a defence against invasion by the surrounding hostile peoples, it may be recorded to their credit that they have not in over 100 years employed these military resources in an offensive war. They have become civilized to that point where they can