Freoismos (Liberalism)

A portmanteau of Filonian and Agathonian to mean “Belief in Freedom” - freoismos is a philosophy much older than its modern rivals of Unionism and Constructionism. Formalized near the beginning of the 8th age during the tumultuous years of Orthodox conversion and subsequent political upheavals, the philosophy centered on individualism and a re-formulation of government as a guardian of rights, rather than an imposer of will. Freoismos posits:

1. Man is a created being, and is made in the image of the Creator by having a moral will, with the capacity for both virtue and vice.
2. This moral will means Man has certain rights by their nature (namely, to not have evil done upon him), and corresponding responsibilities (namely, to not do evil to others).
3. Without government, men will trample each others rights, government is therefore born to protect these natural rights.
4. Rights and responsibilities pre-exist government, but can be recognized and protected by it.
5. Governments, because they come from people, must have their consent to govern, and will reflect the people's virtues and vices.
6. Beyond the protection of rights, an evil government can prevent individuals from doing good, so must be constrained.

Federalism values self-determination of groups and charges the government with supporting them. It theorizes that as government becomes more local it is more effective, and that peaceful competition and debate in society are healthy.