Virtual Positivist Church
Love as principle and
order as basis; progress as end
Order and progress – Live
openly – Live for others
Family, Fatherland, Humanity
Toward a Sociocratic
Republican Politics
Guidelines for the October 4,
2026 Elections
On August 28, 2024, the
Virtual Positivist Church issued a manifesto entitled “A Minimum Republican
Program – Guidelines for Voting on October 6,” available here: https://filosofiasocialepositivismo.blogspot.com/2024/08/programa-republicano-minimo-orientacoes.html.
In that manifesto, after setting out the general political, philosophical, and
moral—in a word, religious—parameters that should guide the conduct of
Brazilian citizens, we presented specific indications for the selection of
candidates in the elections that would take place a few weeks later. These
guidelines were both positive and negative, setting forth affirmative criteria
(what candidates should affirm, do, and represent) and restrictive criteria
(what should be rejected in candidates’ speeches, conduct, and representation).
Nearly two years after those
guidelines were issued, their overall substance remains valid, but we believe
that some additional reflections are necessary, both because the scope of the
election is different (this time there will be statewide and national
elections, whereas previously there were local elections), because there are
new elements in the social, political, and moral circumstances, and, finally,
because some aspects need to be reaffirmed while others need to be emphasized.
Rather than drafting an
entirely new document—a task that would require us to pretend to an originality
that is neither possible nor meaningful—we will return to the previous document
and make the changes we consider necessary. The change in title—from “A Minimum
Republican Program” to “Toward a Sociocratic Republican Politics”—already
suggests this broader scope.
1. Introduction: The Need for Criteria for
Choosing Candidates
This year, on October 4,
Brazil will hold state and national elections in which the population will
elect its new governors, senators, representatives, and President of the
Republic; the electoral campaign will begin on August 16. Political parties,
the Electoral Court, the media, and various civil-society groups affirm that it
is important to “vote conscientiously,” “vote in an informed manner,” and “seek
out the best candidates,” but very rarely, if ever, are the criteria defining
“conscientiousness,” “being informed,” or the “best” candidates presented with
any clarity. At most, there is the assertion that the candidates selected
should “represent” the voters, by which is meant that candidates should think
and act in ways similar to the voters—something which, stated plainly, is far
removed from the genuine interests of society.
With the aim of contributing
to public reflection and, insofar as possible, guiding our fellow citizens in
choosing candidates, this document sets forth a number of positive and negative
criteria—that is, opinions and behaviors that candidates should actually
demonstrate in order to be chosen, as well as opinions and behaviors that
constitute grounds for rejecting candidates.
This manifesto is addressed to
all Brazilians, our fellow male and female citizens and voters. As will become
apparent, the program set forth below may at first seem quite demanding; yet,
on the one hand, this is no reason to disregard it and, on the other, it
indicates how far Brazil remains from republicanism.
Before proceeding, however, it
is important to explain the political, social, and moral foundations of the
criteria that will be presented.
2. Positive Politics and the Sociocratic
Republic
Since November 15, 1889,
Brazil is a republic. Although at first sight the concept of “republic” may
seem modest, it is in fact one of the most substantive and important concepts
in the life of any citizen, especially when we understand the deeper meaning of
the republic, namely, sociocracy. The
notions of republic and sociocracy are ideals: these ideals are not always
realized in practice, but, contrary to what has occurred with distressing
frequency, that is no reason to devalue or reject them. Let us therefore
consider the elements of these ideals.
The fundamental meaning of a
republic is the common good: to devote oneself genuinely to collective
well-being, overcoming individualism, selfishness, and particularism—that is
what it means to be a republican. In addition, the republic is opposed to
monarchy and therefore to caste society; in other words, in a republic, a
person’s worth, while taking into account the sociological particularities of
each individual, is determined by individual merit rather than by the
circumstances of birth (by one’s “birthright”).
More important than this,
devotion to the common good means the subordination of politics to
morality—that is, the subordination of politics to the higher principles and
values of Humanity, in which the family is subordinated to the fatherland and
the fatherland to Humanity. Only in this way can political activity be
understood as devotion to the common good and, on that basis, be subject to
public scrutiny and accountability. More specifically, subordinating politics
to morality means recognizing that political action must be guided by universal
fraternity and by peaceful, convergent, and constructive activity, in
opposition to violence, war, selfishness, and pettiness.
Several consequences follow
from this. The first is that society as a whole must always be taken into
account. We have already indicated that universal fraternity is a fundamental
value: since all must orient their conduct toward improving everyone’s lives,
mutual respect and the affirmation of everyone’s fundamental dignity are
pillars of collective life. It follows as well that social relations must be
peaceful: every form of violence degrades human relations and the social
environment. Pacifism and universal fraternity, in turn, require the rejection
of racism and discrimination based on “gender”; likewise, they require respect
for the environment and, of course, for animals.
A second consequence is that,
although every modern society is composed of patricians and proletarians, the
majority of society consists of the proletariat (that is, workers), and social
efforts must be directed toward improving their living conditions: this is the
objective that should guide the action of the patricians. Any policy that
ignores or disparages the interests of the proletariat is an anti-republican,
or rather, antisociocratic, policy.
A third consequence is that
concern for the common good also entails taking a broad view. We should all be
concerned with the local communities in which we live; at the same time,
however, we must remain attentive to broader settings—statewide, national, and
international. Excessive or exclusive emphasis on local issues is a form of
selfishness and alienation and is therefore contrary to altruism and universal
fraternity. This principle should be generalized: the subordination of families
to fatherlands, of fatherlands to present-day Humanity, and of present-day
Humanity to historical Humanity is the only antidote to localism,
provincialism, xenophobic nationalism, and ethnocentrism.
A particular instance of
affirming broad perspectives and fraternity against violence, hatred, and
particularism is the rejection of conceptions and practices based on resentment
and factionalism. This includes not only xenophobic nationalism but also
identity politics, both of which generate violence and aggression among and
within the various countries.
The basic republican rule is
to “live openly”: everyone should adopt values in life that can be publicly
defended; everyone should, in fact, live according to those values. In the case
of officeholders and public figures, living openly also means that all their
actions are subject to accountability—that is, to public monitoring,
evaluation, and demands for justification. Public disclosure of actions and
motivations is the rule, never the exception. As a consequence of living
openly, everyone should always tell the truth and keep their promises—or, in
other words, one should neither lie nor betray.
The fundamental republican
institution is the separation of church and state: counsel does not require the
violence of the state in order to prevail, nor may the state condition its
services upon acceptance of official beliefs. This is what is commonly called
“secularism.” One consequence is that clergy should remain separate from the state
in order to preserve their dignity, just as the state should refuse the
involvement of clergy lest it be used as an instrument of oppression. The
separation of clergy from politics does not mean alienation or indifference; it
means that clergy should maintain their moral autonomy and may not work for the
state.
The separation of church and
state is the foundation of fundamental liberties: freedom of belief, freedom of
expression, and freedom of association, as well as freedom of movement, habeas
corpus, and due process of law. In addition, state institutions—especially
those directly responsible for serving the population—and public servants
should be valued, while the dignity of so-called private initiative should
likewise always be maintained.
Finally, fundamental social
institutions should be valued, beginning with the family. Relations between the
family and political society (the fatherlands) are complementary rather than
oppositional. The role of the family is affective development and moral education,
preparing citizens for life in the broader society; the role of political
society is to perform the practical tasks necessary to sustain and develop
everyone’s life. Because it is broader, political society regulates and
protects the family. The fatherlands, in turn, should all unite in the service
of Humanity. Just as proletarians should be valued and respected, women should
be valued and their dignity upheld and affirmed; violence against women is
unacceptable.
These values and practices
constitute, without exhausting the subject, much of what the republic—or, more
precisely, sociocracy—is. All of this
seeks to realize one of the supreme ideals of Brazilians and of all human
beings: the union of order and progress. As we stated in another manifesto,
when order and progress are separated, they become antagonistic to one another,
so that order becomes reactionary and oppressive, while progress becomes
chaotic and equally oppressive. Only the union of the two perspectives, in
which both are simultaneously respected and valued, makes it possible for each
to be fulfilled. Order consists in consolidating progress, while progress is
the development of order; the bond between the two is love, which, in political
terms, should be understood as fraternity, mutual respect, and tolerance.
Respect for order does not amount to blind or servile submission to political
power; likewise, the genuine relationship between power and citizens is not
that between a soldier who submits to his commander.
3. Positive Recommendations: Vote for Candidates with This Profile
Considering the values and
principles set forth above, we recommend voting for candidates who exhibit the
following characteristics:
·
respect and uphold the separation of church and state
(the so-called “secularity of the state”)
·
respect human dignity and universal fraternity
·
respect the dignity of public space and republican
institutions
·
respect national sovereignty and peace among peoples
·
respect the dignity of, and value the living
conditions of, the Brazilian population, particularly workers and the poorest,
as well as Indigenous peoples
·
respect the dignity of and value the family,
regardless of the sexual orientation of the members of each family
·
respect and value the dignity of women
·
have a record of combating racism and other forms of
discrimination
·
have a record of defending the dignity and living
conditions of animals
·
have a record of defending the environment
4. Negative Recommendations: Reject Candidates with This Profile
Considering the values and
principles set forth in section 2 above, we recommend not voting for candidates
whose personal and intellectual record is contrary to the sociocratic republic.
More specifically, we reject candidacies that display the following
characteristics:
·
are members of the clergy, that is, priests, pastors,
or equivalents
·
promote clericalism in public office (the use of the
state to promote religious worship and/or doctrines)
·
disparage social problems and/or criminalize poverty
·
promote a culture of violence, particularly by
encouraging the dissemination and use of firearms among the civilian population
·
promote foreign interference or intervention in
matters specifically concerning Brazil
·
promote parochial, provincial, exclusivist, and
exclusionary values and practices, including xenophobic nationalism and
so-called identity politics
·
deny environmental problems (the “climate deniers”)
·
promote a “cancel culture”
·
have a record of involvement with crime, whether
through support for or participation in militias; support for or participation
in organized crime; or personal irresponsibility
·
promote racism, misogyny, and various forms of
prejudice
Curitiba, 26th of Dante 172
(August 10, 2026).
