Constitution of Equestria what would it look like?

[123457 51]

this has bogged my mind i mean the nation seems to look like a normal county but how does its Constitution work how do you vote do you have freedom is it like Iran and North Korea give your opinion    

[Argos 191]

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Edited March 16, 2014 by Argos

[NeuroTypical 64]

What JC said.  But with smaller words.

 

The princess sits in her royal chambers and conducts affairs.  Show me a MLP episode showing a courtroom, or a senate, or a parliament, or a house of commons or something like that, and the story will change. 

 

At the end of the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant, the ponies melt the ice, settle their differences, and raise the banner bearing two alicorns who look like Luna & Celestia.  So I guess they all chose to be ruled by a monarchy (or at least that's what the cultural history says...)

[Circadian 1,273]

 

Amazingly I found an actual copy of their constitution. Turns out there are hundreds of them plastered up all over Ponyville.

[Metemponychosis 1,238]

There should be no questioning that Celestia's word seems to be absolute. Either because ponies trust her to do the right things or because they'll be smashed if they disagree. "Keep Calm and Flutter On" shows us that Celestia can, just because she said so, free Equestria's number one enemy and put him to be reformed by whom she decides.

 

During season one I imagined that ponies probably saw the two sisters as deities. That changed with "Hearth's Warming Eve" and "Mystery Magic Cure" shows us that alicorns are not born, but ascended and given the title of Princess. This could be a good argument to the "ponies trust the princesses to make the right calls" argument. After all, ponies are not humans. Our governments "evolved" in a way to prevent our rulers from abusing their power, or for allowing different people to abuse their power... Depends on how you see it.

 

But if ponies are different, then their governmental machine may very well be processes to assist the princesses as rulers. Sets of laws that guide the resolution of conflicts without the need to bother the princesses. What I mean is that they DO have armed ponies: the guards. But we don't know what is it that they do. They may exist only as a honor guard, to protect Equestria from external threats or they could even serve as a law enforcement force, but we don't see them around Ponyville for example. We don't know and the show does a terrible job of showing us how this stuff actually works. I mean, Trixie just took over Ponyville... I half expected to see Shining Armor marching into Ponyville with two dozen guards and put Trixie in a jail along with the mayor for allowing this to happen.

 

But as I said, the purpose is not to show equestrian politics and government in action: it's to provide a challenge for the characters to solve and entertain the audience. What we DO know is that the Princesses beat down Sombra for enslaving the crystal ponies, they beat down Discord for spreading chaos and making ponies' lives miserable and that when Nightmare Moon took over Luna, Celestia banished her to the moon. Were they protecting their own crowns or where they protecting their ponies? If Celestia came to be an alicorn the same way Twilight did, through understanding of magic and of friendship then we could assume the second.

 

So, Equestria is ruled by an absolutist monarch that actually does what a ruler is supposed to do: rule for the people.

 

This show needs desperately an episode that shows what the princesses actually do as rulers. Maybe court hearings. If I see a parliament or whatever in Equestria it will just break a little more my love for the land of Equestria, because we know how the nobles act in the show.

[Yamato 1,347]

Well, I would like to think it looks exactly like the U.S. Constitution but with "Equestria" sloppily pasted over "United States".

[Creamy Arty 6,251]

This thread appears to be discussing MLP:FiM in some way, shape or form. Thus, it has been sentenced to Show Discussion.

 

This is an automatically generated message, by the way.

[123457 51]

freedom is a mysterious thing in some parts its a privilege in others its never given to people. In equestia the leaders are nice   

[Ladybug 6]

I always assumed that it went something like the one scene with the Queen in Gulliver's Travels. Leaders of each town meets with Celestia and they discuss issues and how to solve them. 

 

[Silverhoof 2,839]

The writers came up with a benevolent monarchy in order to avoid bringing politics into the show. There will be no serious examination of the govt.

---Further Celestia doubles as the mother figure mentoring her little ponies.

 

The focus of the show will always be on Princess Twilight and her friends. Celestia and her govt are mere background devices.

[Veylon 255]

Constitutions serve the purpose of legitimizing an otherwise-illegitimate authority through an agreement whereby the authority agrees to operate within certain bounds, usually by granting the residents of the territory citizenship with a subset of sacrosanct rights. I doubt Equestria has one, as Celestia is in very little need of further legitimacy.

 

Further down, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some form of democracy. The nobility don't appear to do anything and I doubt that Celestia wants to micromanage every town and city in Equestria. Mayor Mare seems normal, and not some kind of expert or noble. It wasn't uncommon for towns (and even cities) to choose their own leaders back in the medieval age or antiquity. There could, conceptually, be an episode down the line where Rarity or somepony gets flattered into running for a place on the town council.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Veylon

[123457 51]

lets look at other county’s they run differently  form others one could be a fascist or democracy or royal my ponit is that we have many theories on this   

[Metemponychosis 1,238]

Constitutions serve the purpose of legitimizing an otherwise-illegitimate authority through an agreement whereby the authority agrees to operate within certain bounds, usually by granting the residents of the territory citizenship with a subset of sacrosanct rights. I doubt Equestria has one, as Celestia is in very little need of further legitimacy.

 

Further down, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some form of democracy. The nobility don't appear to do anything and I doubt that Celestia wants to micromanage every town and city in Equestria. Mayor Mare seems normal, and not some kind of expert or noble. It wasn't uncommon for towns (and even cities) to choose their own leaders back in the medieval age or antiquity. There could, conceptually, be an episode down the line where Rarity or somepony gets flattered into running for a place on the town council.

How about this: Luna and Celestia and their assistants (maybe elected ministers, or chosen by the princesses) govern on the "federal" level through legislation and cities elect their mayors, that govern assisted by councils. Maybe some sort of regional councils and governors?

[123457 51]

i agree we have diffrent way of living like them no racism or war a utopia if you will we have many way of knowing this by fanfics  

[WhiteFang 14]

I don't think that Equestria is supposed to be a democracy because it does not need to be one.  It is a Utopia where there is no war, murder,or arsony.  You very rairly see theft.  There is no need for a justice system because Celestia knows what to do when somepony is messing up Equestria..  She may be an absolute monarch but, she is a very nice one.  In the real world, history has show that most absolute monarchs bath in power and greed at the people's expense.  Others go to the extreme to ensure order and justice.  In the real world, absolute monarchy works only if the leader is 100% for his people.

[DusK 1,264]

We the ponies of Equestria, in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for Equestria.

 

Article 1.

Section 1.

 

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in the Princess of Equestria, which shall consist of a single Princess.

 

Section 2.

 

You are a mmmmmbeeitch that likes mmmmbananas. If you are not a mmmmmbeeitch that likes mmmmbananas, you are a mmmmmbeeitch that doesn't like mmmmmbananas.

Edited May 1, 2013 by DusK

[123457 51]

when people vote their given a choice they can vote for the big ones or 3rd party’s depending on who you vote for we’ve done this times before    

[I am Lunar Fire 198]

I agree with most of the people here that Equestria is basically a monarchy ruled by Princess Celestia. She has all the powers in her possession and unleash them on whoever gets in her way (See Luna / Discord). It took her a thousand years to give a share of land for somebody else to rule (Cadance / Crystal Empire) and I don't think she will give up any more land.

What does happen in Equestria is that you have small communities like Ponyville and Cloudsdale who have municipal powers (hence a Mayor) that do have some leniency to rule a city. Because Celestia can't do everything all by herself. But in the end if she says something then consider it done, or if you're the one implicated get it done right now.

I don't like Feudal systems and that is why I am siding with the New Lunar Republic. Then they might get a constitution. Until then just respect those two rules:

1. Celestia is always right

2. In the event that Celestia is wrong, refer to rule number one.

[123457 51]

ok so the government is a confusing mess i for one know  that it may or may not have a supreme court we have a debate about this in the USA on whats right and wrong

[NeuroTypical 64]

The thing that really confounds me, is the Crystal Empire.  It seems to be just one city.  Empires rule over stuff, but nobody remembered it even existed.  I was half-hoping that when they got their memories back, they'd say "Oh that's right, we RULE YOU!" and then send out the armies.

[Metemponychosis 1,238]

The thing that really confounds me, is the Crystal Empire.  It seems to be just one city.  Empires rule over stuff, but nobody remembered it even existed.  I was half-hoping that when they got their memories back, they'd say "Oh that's right, we RULE YOU!" and then send out the armies.

Yeah. Weird.

It seems to be part of Equestria, anyway, because they are going to host the Equestria Games.

Anybody has any theory as to why it's called an EMPIRE?!

Is it me or every time they tried to expand the universe in season 3 they broke it little more?

[123457 51]

it has a king or queen

prince

princess

may or may not be human rights friendly

can be bigger

and aslo yes its a empire ruled by a princess 

[SharpWit 2,482]

This topic appears dead and the OP hasn't been active for a few years but I find this query interesting enough a have a go at it. 

SPOILER ALERT!!! CONTAINS REFERENCES TO VARIOUS EPISODES AND THE MLP MOVIE!!!

Let's look at the facts.

From the onset of the show we know that Equestria has royalty, and began under a diarchy and is currently in one. However for most of its existence, Equestria has operated under a single Monarch. Equestria is old enough to where it might not have had a constitution before Luna's banishment. If this is so, then either Celestia could have prepared it for Luna's return, or simply added an amendment. In the episode, "Magical Mystery Cure", We see Twilight become a Princess, and we know that previously Cadence had been made into a princess as well. The only other characters with a direct royal connection to the Princesses, is Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood. His ancestral relationship can be explained one of two ways. Either he comes from a family line that was adopted by Celestia, just as Cadence was, or his stated being 52 generations removed which is more than 1000 years, some weird mess of a family tree might have resulted in him from a past relative of hers. His title is likely to be only honorary, and he was originally intended to be a Duke, implying Equestria once had Duchies. Also, in the episode, "Family Appreciation Day" we see Celestia provide land for Granny Smith's family to settle on. After the defeat of King Sombra, Cadence is granted rule over the Crystal Empire, and in the episodes "Princess Spike", "Rainbow Falls", and "Equestria Games", we see a Griffon delegate representing an Equestrian city, and a competing Griffon team. The Crystal Empire and Griffon Kingdom are shown to be separate from Equestria, yet have unique relationships as shown in their interaction and participation of events. This tells us that they hold a special status. From all of this we can be certain of a few powers held by Celestia.

1. A Royal Princess holds the right to allocate land under directly under her reign.*

*This may not apply to lands under Equestrian control yet are beyond Equestria's borders

• The Griffon Kingdom is a protectorate under Equestria and partially subject to its rule.
• The Crystal Empire is a protectorate under Equestria and partially subject to its rule.

2. A Royal Princess holds the right to allocate titles and place individuals into positions of government.****

****Not excluding titles and positions equal to her own.

***Appointments may be set in place in the case of a Royal Princess's leave or absence.

**Seniority shall be the deciding factor of authority among multiple positions of the same title.

*Granted positions and rulings made by those holding are open to being revoked.

Seeing as Luna was welcomed back as Equestria's Coruler, and Discord has been reformed and forgiven for treason, I think this next one is pretty safe to say.

3. A Royal Princess holds the right to incarcerate and pardon individuals should they prove to be, or not to be a threat to national security.

Slavery beyond Equestria's borders as seen in the MLP movie, does not come as a shock, and was also practiced to an extreme extent by King Sombra, who arguably has been dealt the harshest punishment thus far, and no empathy from our protagonists.

4. Slavery shall not exist in Equestria.

In the episodes "Princess Spike" and "A Royal Problem" we see that delegates and other officials may meet with the princesses. This along with the likes of Mayor Mare are where our forms of democracy are set. The Grand Equestrian Pony Summit is the closest we've seen to any sort of Parliament or Senate. Celestia has a practice of holding absolute rulership, but either due to Equestria's borders or her realm of influence extending so far, and not wanting to interfere in areas not requiring her presence and maintaining approval from her subjects, she mostly rules from afar in a laissez faire sort of way. I believe that having granted cities and regions the right to representatives in one form of another, also grants them the right to meet with her under reasonable circumstances.

5. Citizens of Equestria may elect and send representatives for specified districts, to the capital, where they may make a request of audience with a Royal Princess.****

****A Royal Princess may appoint a representative of their own to serve alongside those of an elected office.

***Request for an audience with a Royal Princess may be denied if there is a lack or proper etiquette. This falls into application with regular civilians as well, should a regular representative not be suitable.

**It's a Royal Princess's duty to hear out all grievances and disputes until all parties have been satisfied with an agreed upon solution.

*Legislation proposed by a representative is shall not go into affect beyond it's specified district of origin without approval via royal decree, nor shall it go into or stay in affect within a specified district if there is a dissent among the local populace exceeding fifty percent.

I'm certain there's more, particularly in regard to military affairs which I shall go into more thoroughly soon. Also I need to explore the realm of free speech as the rampancy of a certain school's paper and some not so honest advertisement seen from Flim and Flam might show protections for what we'd consider solicitor's or maybe a lack of any protection for the individuals privacy. Princess Luna's dream viewing would play a part in that as well. Will also attempt to make this more orderly later on.

[sweetolebob18 724]

It's difficult to say if they even HAVE a constitution. Some countries have a formal constitution (like the USA). Others do not (like Great Britain). The big difference is that laws have to conform to the written constitution and it is harder to change the constitution than it is to change an ordinary law 

[Brony Number 42 9,965]

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free Equestria, the right of the ponies to keep and bear arms shall not be infinged.