As a result of the 2013 CCPS Party Conference held between Sandus and a multitude of other leftist micronations and micronational parties, the Acting Secretary Gaius Sörgel Publicola authored the first CCPS Year Plan for 2014. Now, with only three months left until the CCPS Party Congress, Veritum Sandus journalist and the Acting Secretary Gaius Sörgel Publicola issue this report on advancements made on the CCPS Year Plan 2014. The report corresponds to the three sections of the CCPS Year Plan, explicitly “Political”, “Social”, and “Economic” plans. The next CCPS Party Congress will be held in the traditional time frame falling near the important State holidays of the National Day of Socialism and the Day of the Ways & Means of Revolution, VII et VIII Novembro (7 and 8 November) respectively. The CCPS Year Plan 2014 can be found here.
Report on the CCPS Year Plan for MMXIV (2014)
Political:
Democratic Republic — While not much work had been done to formulate Sandus into more a republican structure and no work has been done to plan what a future Council will look like, this point of the Year Plan has succeeded in its continued support and representation of Sandum republicanism under the Party, the Council idea, and the Sôgmô under the theories of the historian Polybius. The representation of Sandum republicanism has also had its impact on Sandum culture, including a slow and successive change to the role and journalism of Veritum Sandus from a newspaper to now a journal representing the official view of the Sandum State – much like the role of Annals and the Tabularium in Rome’s Republic; now, all major decisions and even minor ones should be notarised in Veritum Sandus by the Sôgmô, as opposed to previous articles which meant to convince citizens and non-citizens alike of Sandus’s point of view. In this regard, the Party’s Year Plan has certainly succeeded in shaping and forming Sandum political culture.
Decentralisation and the Council — With the Sôgmô studying the Republic of Rome and, specifically, the historical and political works of the second-century BCE historian Polybius, the Council idea has become transformed into one of the tripolar forces of the fledgling Sandum republic as Sandus seeks to transform the current proto-republicanism into a republic under the Sôgmô, Party, and the Council. Recognising this tripolar force and how the Roman republic was formed, the Party and the Sôgmô still have much more work to do to define the transformation from the State of Sandus of today to the State of Sandus of tomorrow, under the tripolar republican forces of the Sôgmô, Party, and Sovereign People.
Cooperation & Primacy with the Left — No further discussions, symposia, or conventions have been proposed to united leftist micronations or leftist micronationalists together to keep up international interaction and cooperation with the Left. It is the hope of the Party to hold another CCPS Party Conference alongside the CCPS Party Congress this Novembro (November).
Strengthening the Provinces — The Party’s Plan has succeeded in strengthening the provinces, as the State has added the province of Sandus Ulterior and thus have moved the province-system from the failed Courso d’Honourae system into a more independent and regional territorial system. However, the next Party Congress ought to consider provincial autonomy and how to run provinces in a bottom-up way — to allay fears of independence movements that could damage the Sandum nation-project and to unite Sandum citizens on the State-wide level and also on the provincial level for local government.
Social:
Citizen Growth — Here, much work has been done to see that Sandus’s population grows and that activity is achieved. Sandus’s population has indeed grown, since the population crisis of Spring MMXIII (2013) when Sandus lost 2/3 of its active citizens. Since the CCPS Party Conference of Novembro MMXIII (November 2013), Sandus has seen growth of peregrae and socilivae citizens – especially with the two new socilivançae of Kumano and Überstadt. A new law currently being considered by the Sôgmô at the time of writing may in fact double Sandus’s population by broadening the classifications of a peregro citizen to make it akin to a non-full citizen resident.
Decentralisation and the Culture — Leitourgíes for the development of Sandum culture stopped in Spring MMXIV (2014). This objective has failed to decentralise the development of Sandum culture from beyond the reaches of the Sôgmô; all cultural endeavours are still pioneered and patronised by the Sôgmô.
Coordination with the Left — This objective has not yet been worked on, though the upcoming CCPS Party Congress will also include a CCPS Party Conference intended to bring foreign comrades to Sandus in order to, once again, better the development of Sandum and micronational Socialism.
Citizens at Home and Abroad — This is the most apparent success for the Social section of the CCPS Year Plan, as the Sôgmô established the “Further Sandus” Province – also known as Sandus Ulterior – in the Spring of this year. Sandus has already received one new citizen – a success for both Citizens at Home and Abroad and Citizen Growth – who inhabits this provincial designation for citizens who do not live in the traditional homeland of Sandus.
Supporting Active & Engaged Citizens — There has been some work on this objective, but not enough. The Kremlum Sandus State College hopes to educate new citizens and support their growth through education; however, at the time of writing, the State College has a completed schedule of two courses. There exist no other work on this either, except a proposal to bring together friends of the Sôgmô through an arts and crafts cooperative that will serve both as social and economic achievements for Sandus under the Supporting Active & Engaged Citizens, Citizen Growth, and Development of Minor Industry objectives.
For the Socialist Culture — The Party has done only few works to feature “Socialist culture” in Sandus and work for its development. From the concerts and music videos released via Channum Unum, the Party has done the bulk of the work for “revolutionary music” that can also be found on its Voice of Sandus journal. More ought to be done and should be done to make a festival out of I Maio (1 May) or May Day and other labour-oriented holidays and festivals. One example can be Sandus’s celebration of Lammas with other Celtic and Germanic micronations, though where Sandus’s efforts to celebrate are related to the harvest and the toil of farmers and workers.
Economic:
Tellus in Urbs — There has been no work on this, and perhaps this objective is misplaced. This objective should be made for MMXV (2015), when the Sôgmô and most of Sandus’s citizens will live in and around the University of Maryland.
Development of Minor Industry — There has been no work on this, though there is a proposal to begin an arts and crafts cooperative for the benefit of Sandum citizens.
Management of Capital — Half-way successful as the Party’s objective for a central place for capital has been obtained in the form of a PayPal account for the State of Sandus. However, more should be done in the last three months to look for grants, crowdfunding, and other donation drives and initiatives from citizens and non-citizens – especially for small donations that few can deny, such as 1USD or even half of that.
Emphasis on Economic Sustainability — No work here and, rather, there has been some efforts in the last few months to the contrary. While economic development should not be a pitfall for Sandus, it comes at our benefit when economic development makes Sandum citizens richer in material culture – even if it leaves the State, cooperative, and citizens no better off in their wallets. In this area, a Middle Way is desirable – a Middle Way between complete economic sustainability and running in the red. In this Middle Way, running a deficit is acceptable if the products produced are worth the money lost – id est, if the product is of good quality and betters Sandum material culture.
Cooperation with the Left — Sandus’s activity in the Intermicronational Leftist Forum has been nil, but work can be done to transform the forum into a seasonal and annual exchanges – as with a CCPS Party Conference preceding the CCPS Party Congresses. Some cooperation has existed with the Left, as between Sandus and Überstadt – which has recently become a socivila state. More cooperation in economic affairs, however, has developed with the non-specific Saint Josephsburg Economic Pact.
Economic Liaisons & Guiding Organs — No economic liaisons or advisory organs have been commissioned by the Office of the Sôgmô for guidance on economic affairs and economic development.
For the Determining of Objectives — This objective specifically called for laying of economic objectives for MMXIV (2014) before the New Sancta Year in Martio (March); this was not done.
Encouraging Donation Taxes & Party Dues — There has been no change towards this objective and no work on this objective either, though we expect work to be done following this report’s publication.
Cooperation with Foreign Corporations — No work has been done on this objective.
Pursuing Worker’s Democracy — No work has been done on this objective, but the proposal of the arts and crafts cooperative has specifically mentioned the importance for worker’s democracy here – and that spin of an experiment for worker’s democracy may be applied to the proposal in the future, when the Sôgmô establishes the cooperative and looks for workers.
Letter from the Secretary
Since the 2013 CCPS Party Conference and the release of this CCPS Year Plan for MMXIV (2014), there has been relative success in the objectives of the Party. The report above should be a realistic approach to our successes and pitfalls. One will notice that most of our work has been focused on Social and Political arenas and not on Economic: this is an example of both a success and a pitfall in the achievements of our Party. The Party’s objectives to stand for republicanism have grown under the Political affairs of the Year Plan, but Economic initiatives have been bogged down by inactivity and disinterest. With the future establishment of an arts and crafts cooperative in Sandus, that will hopefully see the formation of individual work-groups such as those for knitting and another for design, Sandus will see its first taste of “minor industry”. Work on Tellus, however, has been relative and minor, and should leave anyone pessimistic of Sandus’s achievement towards the 2015 Economic Goal.
Relative success everywhere, however, has been achieved under the guidance of the CCPS Year Plan 2014, as Sandus prepares for the final three month countdown to the first CCPS Party Congress since the citizenship crisis of MMXIII (2013). Two new traditions have also been added to that of the CCPS Party Congress: both the CCPS Year Plan and the CCPS Party Conference. The Party Conference and the Party Congress differ in who is in attendance: with the latter only citizens can attend, but anyone can attend the former. The CCPS Year Plan has also been a successful tool for Sandus to plan for its future, as the Founding Law says, “in the best interest of present and future generations” and to gauge its relative success from the beginning to the end of the duration of the Year Plan.
One should not be discouraged, however, comrades. Though our relative success does not match the idealistic or intended success of the Year Plan, it never does. The importance here, instead, is continuing the advancement of our State and our nation-project with detailed objectives and the specifics necessary for understanding where We Sovereign People are to continue marching as revolutionaries loyal to the ideals of the Party and the Nation. Therefore, this is the beginning of the three-month countdown to the festivities of the National Day of Socialism.
Your faithful Acting Secretary working towards Socialism in the State,
Gaius Sörgel P.
Acting Secretary of the Citizens’ Communist Party of Sandus
sandus.org 