Throughout the SMP Compendium, there are six recurring terms that are intended to denote the specific sociological categories that exist within any nation adopting the Work-Standard. The Individual or the “Self,” the Class or the “Estate,” followed by the “People,” the “State,” the “Church,” and the “Totality” (which is all of the above). The terms “Individual” and “Class” are interchangeable with “Self” and “Estate” respectively to point out how there is a continuity inherent among the Classes (i.e. the ‘working class’, ‘middle class’ and ‘upper class’) that are reminiscent of the old Estates System within Western countries prior to the Enlightenment. Therefore, whenever one encounters words like “Self” or “Estate” being employed in various SMP Compendium entries, always remember that they are a shorthand for the Individual and Class respectively. The other terms are self-explanatory until somebody pursues a Deconstruction of what the Totality is really supposed to describe with regard to the Socialist Nation.  

Below are the descriptions for all six sociological categories under the Work-Standard:

1. The Totality is an umbrella term to denote all Churches, States, Peoples, Classes and Individuals within the Socialist nation in the SMP Compendium. It is a whole that is far greater than the sum of its parts. The definition is designed to be so broad that it will specifically refer to everyone living and working in the Socialist Nation. Everyone in the Socialist Nation, no matter who or what they are, where they are located, and why they exist within certain social structures, is a member of the Totality. When somebody needs to refer to the specific adherents of a religion, a government, an ethnicity, a social rank, or a person, Totality can no longer be applicable. The only exception accepted by the SMP Compendium is for certain Entries related to the Totality’s socio-political-economic relations with the Individual and the Council State by extension among various legal, political, technological, financial, historical and philosophical contexts.
2. The Church refers to the adherents of a religion, including its denominations and sects. The SMP Compendium reserves this term for contexts where it is referring to the ecclesiastical authorities and clergy who act as the leaders of their religion. Avoid this term if somebody needs to go into specifics and describe the clerics of a particular religion and their congregations or when we need to distinguish between different denominations and sects within the same religion. Not everyone in the Nation is going to be practicing the same faith or adhering to the same interpretation.
3. The State refers to the central government and the various regional and local governments subordinate to it. The SMP Compendium reserves the term itself when it is referring to the central government and the authorities who govern it. Avoid this term if somebody needs to go into specifics and describe the government of a given region or the various metropolitan and municipal governments that operate under its jurisdiction. Not everyone lives within the same geographical location.
4. The People, like the two preceding terms, is also a broad term. While it generally refers to the ethnicity which defines the majority of the general population, it can also refer to foreigners, ethnic minorities, and others who also reside as part of the Socialist Nation for the benefit of the Socialist Nation. Avoid this term if somebody needs to differentiate between specific People’s Communities. Not everyone who is a national is going to always live in their Nation, just as how not everyone living in the Nation are one of its citizens.
5. The Class or the Estate denotes a specific Social Rank within the hierarchical command structure of the Nation. Everything is organized based entirely on Rank and Achievement, rather than these outlandish notions of Blood and Wealth. Anyone can be nobility or a billionaire in the Socialist Nation under the Work-Standard, but they have no authority over their superior, who might be a member of the working class. That is not to say the reverse cannot happen; in either case, both possibilities need to be taken into account according to the achievements and actions of those who are being evaluated by the Totality.
6. And lastly, the Individual or the Self can refer to anyone who lives as a citizen of the Nation or a foreigner allowed to work, study, and live in the Nation. The SMP Compendium employs this term in a broad sense to describe what is to be expected of anyone residing in the nation. When somebody needs to go into specifics, they refer to that person by name, distinguishing them from the rest of the Totality.

These terms are essential for understanding how the concepts of Arbeit and Geld impact the national economy of the Socialist Nation under the Work-Standard. Be familiar with the details behind each term as they are deployed across various SMP Compendium Entries pertaining to the Work-Standard’s equations and accounting practices. More importantly, any future treatises building on the specifications of the Work-Standard will also expand and elaborate further on how all facets of everyday life in the Socialist Nation interacts with each other.   

Categories: Compendium

Tags: Economics, Finance, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Socialist Finance, Third Place, Work-Standard