Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

[jason taylor]

Here is one for a society deliberately intended to be gerontocratic and aristocratic. It is not intended to fit modern notions of fairness, but it is an interesting idea to arrange things.

Everyone on there majority has a vote unless disqualified by criminal behavior.

Every household head has an extra vote according to the number of issue (a family with three children has three notational votes as well as the individual votes of it's members).

Every head of an extended family similarly has notational votes for every one of two generations.

And so on. With every normal (more about that latter) death the notational vote disappears as does the individual.

Adoptions and illegitimate issue does not count in a household's notational vote. The reason is to prevent a paterfamilias bribing all his clients to accept nominal adoption. Exception are by special dispensation.

A notational vote may continue after death as a special award for service to the state. This is to prevent aristocrats from shying away from battle for political gain.

The implications of this are obvious; such a society may well develop distasteful customs like female cloistering and polygamy. Not to mention rather creepy attempts to throw the genetics into doubt by-you get the idea. And vendettas associated with such. Some of those things can be the focus of political intrigue. Romeo and Juliet plots are also an idea.