User:Muelleml/sandbox

The Good Country is a new virtual country that is not defined by borders but by values, a nation that does not have a state territory, passports or armed forces. It was founded by Madeline Hung and Simon Anholt and first opened its doors on September 17th, 2018. The country is made up by people around the world, that have the desire to make countries work better together. The idea is that a country should not serve its own interests at the expense of other countries, but serve the interests of all humanity. The Good Country organization wants to bring people together, who think globally and in the interest of the entire world. The stated mission of the country is to prove that countries can work together to make progress against grand challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, conflicts, migration and pandemics. The idea is that nations that collaborate will achieve more growth and stability. The aim of the Good Country is to change the culture of governance worldwide, from one that is fundamentally competitive to one that is fundamentally collaborative.

Simon Anholt, one of the founders of the Good Country, admits that these goals are very ambitious and could take decades to become true. By creating a virtual country, the founders hope that the organization could gain more influence, than founding a non-governmental or other kind of organization. Furthermore a sovereign nation can influence the international community with its own foreign policies. The Good Country estimates that at least ten percent of the world's population shares the values proclaimed by the Good Country. According to Simon Anholt this could eventually result in a population of 760 million people.

Tax
By becoming a 'citizen' of the Good Country a annual tax of $5 dollars is claimed. It is possible to pay the tax for other citizens, that cannot afford any tax payments.

Proclaimed Targets
The fundamental targets proclaimed by the Good Country are:
 * 1) Teach the leaders of other nations how co-operation and collaboration can produce better results than competition
 * 2) As the population of the Good Country grows, persuade other nations to work together
 * 3) Use the Good Country's resources to design and build new innovative systems that will help to make the world work better

Citizen Engagement
The Good Country policy cycle is entirely based on digital platforms and will include the following steps:
 * 1) A team within the Good Country monitors current global challenges and sends briefings to the citizens
 * 2) Several times a year it is decided by the citizens which issues will be taken on
 * 3) Civil servants write a policy sketch based on the citizens feedback
 * 4) The sketch is send out to an international network of experts (e.g. consultancies, universities) to outline a detailed policy proposal
 * 5) An evaluation panel inside the Good Country decides which proposal is carried out
 * 6) Finally the program will be carried out, collaborating with other countries

Criticism
Becoming a nation is bound to several attributes, that are generally not met by a virtual country organization. Moreover a nation has to be accepted by a majority of the countries within the Unitied Nations, all this seems to be very unlikely. The attempt to build a virtual country is extremely ambitious and might seem to be an utopian idea. Another area of criticism is the extended use of modern communication technologies within the citizenship. Policy making is based on technologies, like social media and artificial intelligence. That excludes people that cannot read or write from becoming a citizen. . Some also think that the Good Country will end up just being another state, divided by power politics.

2018
The Good Country was founded in September 2018 by Simon Anholt and Madeline Hung. More than 2000 citizens joined the Good Country til the end of 2018.

2019
To get the organization operable, it is targeted to build up a population of 200.000 people until September 2019. If this target is reached and the organization proofs to be functional more citizens shall be recruited.