Nexus State Theory

Family: I mean this to have a fairly broad meaning. It could be two spouses and their children; two spouses and no children; a group of friends (friend-family) with particularly strong ties to one another ; or an extended family with grandparents, cousins, and grandchildren. In a larger sense, anyone who has taught you civic skills, or to whom you have taught civic skills, is your family. A school classroom or church group can also have aspects of a family.

Civic skills: communication, fairness, relating, and shared projects.

Philosophy: The art of living one’s life in light of civic skills. That is, the essence of philosophy is that it can think on a communal or global scale, yet apply to our actions as individuals.

Intentional family: A family that reflects on and is mindful about their civic skills and connection with the needs of the broader society. In other words, a philosophical family.

Voluntary associations: groups that people can freely join and freely leave. (The right to leave is more important than the right to join: one cannot join just any association.)

Free association norms: social rules that promote voluntary associations.

Social capital includes:

1. Norms (social rules) that bind people together. For example, a rule that we must shake hands when meeting someone.
2. Voluntary associations. For example, community sports leagues.
3. Trust between unrelated members of society. For example, we might ask people in a poll, “do you think people are generally trustworthy?” This could help us to measure social capital.

The assumption is that these things are interrelated.

Universal fairness: Universal principles will make things fair; e.g.: Plato’s idea of justice or “the good”; utilitarianism’s idea of maximizing happiness.

Communicative fairness: Fairness comes from a shared understanding via communication, not through universal principles.

Equality: A kind of universal fairness that occurs when something is the same for everyone. (Wealth, income, opportunities, status, power, etc.)

Nexus State: a state of authentic communication, shared projects, and relating between a group of people (two or more people); combined with the implementation of fair practices that emerge in the course of that communication.