By 2050, the County Palatine of Kenya is living a golden age – after some serious trouble during the Upheaval and subsequent transitions. Prince Barack Obama II has reigned fairly and equally for the last 30 years, leading the region to be one of the most important centers of commerce and science of the world (which isn’t hard since the world is now, except for a few very impressive regions, mostly rubble).
Government is democratic – well, not democratic by 20th century or even 19th century standards, but by the “new democratic rule” with which Obama inspired many noble minds. The state is organized around a federated electoral board of public universities, whose very diverse body of Deans elects the Prince – for life. At the Prince’s death or resignation, the Supreme Council gathers to deliberate who among them is to be the new Prince. Malia Obama is likely to win the nomination at her father’s death, becoming the first Princess of Kenya.
The Deans themselves are elected by the faculty within their universities; which are the more direct administrators of their territories. There are over 50 territories within the Palatinate, each one with their own public universities. These universities are the center for public policy in each territory. Entrance is free and universal to all, provided a certain minimum score obtained in the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which varies from one university to another.
The public administration is comprised of highly specialized scholars, with proven aptitude, expertise and experience in their own fields, and is subjected to peer review and based on good and sound science. The Citizen Constitution of the Palatinate states clearly that “the official doctrine guiding and inspiring the acts of the State is the belief in unlimited progress for all the human race and associate animals”.
The main source of revenue is a progressive single tax on land and the revenues of the much publicized national health systems, aptly named Obamacare™, which charges an individual user fee, half of which goes to the also very publicized universal basic income, called the “Georgine” by locals. The Prince’s family lives off Obamacare’s other half revenue, while the Deans and other public functionaries extract the land tax locally as funds to the universities, each one of which choose how to best allocate it.
Law is progressive. Individual liberties are sacred, and so all kinds of marriage contracts and commerce are allowed. Prostitution and drug sales are major business in the country. Safe spaces are a constitutional guarantee. Enforcement is provided by specialized divisions within universities, relying mostly on “Citizen Drones” to remove offenders. White men are not allowed to for Safe Spaces and are closely watched to avoid uncooperative behavior. Hate speech surveillance is considered a matter of personal honor, and publishable with ostracism, especially by Deans and other university staff. Left-wing radicals are sent to the barbaric borders of the realm, under supervision of radical-leaning professors, in order to try and develop their own utopias. If they work, eventually they are incorporated into the realm of the Palatinate as an independent territory. Otherwise, radicals may join their own universities once again, or emigrate if they prefer. Criminals are treated within universities by specialists in psychology, criminology and sociology, in order to evaluate the trends and create specific public policy towards diminishing crime. They are kept in VR training and other ethically approved treatment, such as testosterone reduction, until considered safe to come to society.
Guns are strictly banned and produced solely by the government in association with high-tech enterprises. Both internal police and external defense are operated by specialist war-game strategists and robotic engineers which operate and guide armies of citizen drones, both around the border and within territories. Those are directly subordinate to the Prince. Justice is operated by a court of specialist judges with the aid of AI helpers which search the vast jurisprudence and doctrine, now mostly formalized as deductions from Constitutional Axioms.
External relations are now generally great, in spite of initial hard feelings. The Trike is the main commercial and diplomatic partner, reactionary radicals being regularly traded for progressive talents and most high-tech enterprises operating in both countries. The Confucian Republic and its surrogate states around the Palatinate are less than happy with this arrangement, which fundamentally blocks many commercial routes around East Africa, but respectful relations have been kept in the last years, mostly because of intermediation by the Trike.
Population is highly diverse, having been drawn from high-IQ graduates and undergraduates from all over the world during the Upheaval. Original African populations have been integrated, mostly through the explosive commercial and scientific boom of the late 2030’s, and now comprise the “neo-bourgeoisie” of the country. Fertility is usually around 2 children, one naturally born and another usually genetically engineered and born within universities through in-vitro fertilization. Non-university people are encouraged to settle in abandoned lands next to the borders.
The prospects are good in the foreseeable future, although the death of Prince Obama might bring complications, since the Deans have been lately aligned around two camps. Radical-leaning ones wish for a return of popular elections, less radical ones argue popular elections are unnecessary given the Prince is a mere accessory figure. If the radical party gets its way, and nominate their preferred Dean for Prince, external relations with the Trike and internal policy might be seriously affected. It doesn’t seem likely for the moment, since most radical-leaning professors have been killed in a barbaric attack to the borders last year.
Antinomia Imediata 