Trevor Watkins | Implementing the Canton System in a seceded Western Cape

Trevor Watkins is the founder of the Individualist Movement, the author of two books, and an Associate of the Free Market Foundation. He publishes on a blog at libertarian.org.za

The best example of successful governance in the Western world is the Swiss Confederation. Switzerland is wealthy, peaceful and secure, despite consisting of 4 separate nationalities, with almost no natural resources.

Who will own and control the physical land in the Western Cape after secession? How will the territory be governed, and by who? How will the interests of minorities be represented? These are core issues which will determine the success of the secession and the future of the Western Cape.

These questions will probably be brushed off with generalities – the land is owned by all, the majority party governs in the interests of all, of course the rights of minorities will be protected. But in a traditional democracy 51% of the population will exercise complete control over the state (taxation, army, courts, police, laws, policies, usage). All minority parties will be effectively sidelined. Alternative parties (Islam, Afrikaner, Libertarian) will be denied any power or agency. Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest”. I reject a winner-takes-all democracy for the seceded Western Cape.

I propose a confederation of geographically independent states, each with their own political systems, implementing their own unique policies, subject to a very general confederal constitution agreed to by all the confederal states. But how would we fairly divide up the land in a manner agreed to and welcomed by all?

This proposal is based on the assumption that no single governance system would serve the interests of ALL residents of the Western Cape (WC), as demonstrated by the many differing governance systems throughout the world. How should the WC be governed to best suit the interests of all its residents?

After secession the transition to a new dispensation would be handled by the existing Western Cape government in the short term, known as the Interim Authority (IA). New and existing popular movements would be registered to contest the referendum on future governance. All Western Cape residents would be registered to vote. The IA would set up a confederal council with one representative from each registered movement. The confederal council would draw up its own constitution, but would have no executive powers. Its primary purpose would be to set the minimum standards (freedom of speech, rule of law, etc) and arbitrate between movements.

The IA would convene a constitutional convention open to all registered movements. Each movement would prepare and popularise a manifesto representing their policies. This Canton proposal would be one such manifesto. Other manifestos may favour a majority government, or a theocracy, or a language based republic. The IA would organise a referendum listing the name of each movement and its associated manifesto. Any movement obtaining more than 5000 votes is considered a valid movement. The rest would be eliminated. If the Canton Movement wins a majority of votes in the referendum, the Canton policy described below would be implemented by the IA.

The total rates income for the Western Cape would be divided by the number of registered voters in the referendum, giving the value of each individual vote in Rands (Vote value). The number of referendum votes received would be multiplied by the VoteValue and allocated to each movement as its Working Land Capital (WLC) value. The IA would then convene an auction listing each unique suburb and district in the entire Western Cape. Each valid movement can bid for any suburb or district using its Working Land Capital. The movement winning the auction becomes the new administrator of that suburb, and its WLC is reduced by the winning bid amount.

There is no overall “winner”. Each movement gets the land it can afford, based on its referendum results and auction strategy. Each movement can set the laws, regulations and policy for residents occupying the land it acquired by auction.

1. After achieving Cape independence, the existing Western Cape (WC) government would form an interim administration (IA) with very limited objectives.
2. People who share broadly similar philosophies and outlooks would coalesce into “movements”. Each movement would be defined by a written manifesto, describing their philosophy and policies in more detail. They would publish their manifesto and attempt to recruit followers. To be recognised, a movement must obtain more than 5,000 written signatures from WC residents.
3. The IA would register all qualifying movements and register their supporters, and would set up a confederal council with one representative from each registered movement. The confederal council would draw up its own constitution, but would have no executive powers. Its primary purpose would be to arbitrate between movements.
4. The IA would then convene a constitutional convention (CC) consisting of registered political parties and civil society groups and movements. Each movement would prepare and popularise a manifesto for discussion at the convention. This Canton proposal would be one such manifesto. Other manifestos may recommend a majority government, or a theocracy, or a language based republic.
5. The IA would organise a referendum listing the name of each movement and its associated manifesto. Any movement obtaining more than 5000 votes is considered a valid movement. The rest would be eliminated.
6. The delegates to the CC would agree on the terms of an interim constitution based on their referendum votes received.
7. If the Canton Movement wins a majority of the referendum votes, then the concepts described below would apply.

Canton Movement Manifesto

1. The total rates income from all properties in the WC would be calculated, and be divided by the total Registered residents, giving the theoretical value of each individual’s vote (VoteValue).
2. The number of votes received by each movement multiplied by the VoteValue represents the working land capital (WLC) for each movement.
3. The IA will organise an auction of each Western Cape suburb and district, open to all the qualifying movements. Each movement can make bids for each suburb using the remaining funds available in their WLC. The highest bid wins and the bid value is deducted from the winning movements WLC.
4. All the winning bids for suburbs are consolidated by movement. This becomes the land stock of that movement. Movements may negotiate with other movements to swap or trade contiguous land areas, but this is not obligatory. Each movement will represent the land acquired at auction, with the intention to manage the land profitably. The existing residents on that land retain full ownership of property rights, but the owning movement will enjoy political authority over laws, policy and regulations.
5. It will be in the interests of smaller movements to acquire land in cheaper areas.
6. There is no overall “winner”. Each movement gets the land it can afford, based on its referendum results and auction strategy.

Consequences

If the Canton System is adopted the WC would be divided up into many competing jurisdictions, much like the Swiss Canton system. The laws and regulations in each canton would be decided by the members and leaders of the owning movement. The choicest areas would attract the highest bids, limiting the ability of a major movement to take the most land.

The only central authority is the confederal council made up of a representative from each canton which also enforces the confederal.constitution. The confederal council’s powers are limited to recommendations, and foreign policy. The confederal council will arbitrate disputes between cantons.

Although the majority of people will probably vote for movements that represent their traditional values (DA, FF+, ANC), a space will be opened up for alternative approaches that would never be represented in a unitary democratic system. Dedicated Muslim cantons practising Sharia law, or a libertarian canton based on the Harm/Consent Rule, or even a progressive canton with generous social policies may arise and provide interesting perspectives on what works.

This would represent the promise of a Free Cape for me.