A Post-Collapse Constitution – (Part 2)

The Preamble and Rights of Persons

A working framework for dignity, autonomy, and non-negotiable survival rights after collapse

If you're waiting for permission to admit the system is broken, stop.
Collapse isn’t a future event. It’s a present reality. It’s slow in some places, sudden in others. The scaffolding of the old order is still standing, but its core promises have already failed. This constitution is written from that fact, not in denial of it.

In Part 1, I shared the four framing chapters that explain why this document exists and how to read it. Today’s post begins the actual text of A Post-Collapse Constitution for the United States, starting with the Preamble and Article I: Rights of Persons.

These sections aren’t rhetorical. They are enforceable. They assume real-world conditions, systemic failure, and the need for a baseline structure that does not depend on wealth, stability, or elite cooperation to function.

PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

We the People of the United States, in order to repair a fractured union, restore the promise of liberty, and secure the rights of all persons now and forever, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

We affirm that dignity is not a reward, but a foundation.

We declare that no person shall live in fear of poverty, hunger, imprisonment without justice, or silence without recourse.

We acknowledge that the future cannot be entrusted to wealth alone, nor can governance be yielded to machines, factions, or dynasties.

We recognize that the survival of this nation requires the survival of its people and that no flag can endure above a starving population.

We do not abolish our name, nor our symbols, nor the sacrifices of those who came before us. We carry them forward, cleansed of corruption, rearmed with purpose, and bound to a higher standard of truth.

This Constitution does not erase what we were. It fulfills what we were meant to be.

Let it begin.

ARTICLE I — RIGHTS OF PERSONS

Section 1.
All persons shall be equal under the law, entitled to full protection, liberty, and access to the guarantees set forth in this Constitution. These rights shall not be suspended, revoked, or diminished for any reason, including status, income, history, belief, or origin.

Section 2.
Every person has the right to bodily autonomy. No government, company, or private actor shall compel or coerce physical contact, confinement, medication, surveillance, or biometric capture without verified, imminent threat to life.

Section 3.
Every person has the right to shelter, food, water, hygiene, medical care, and safe rest. These shall not be withheld as punishment, nor conditioned upon work, belief, documentation, or compliance.

Section 4.
Every person has the right to speak, assemble, protest, learn, publish, worship, create, and preserve their culture without interference or retaliation, so long as such acts do not infringe upon the rights of others.

Section 5.
Every person has the right to access and control their own identity, records, and digital presence. No person shall be surveilled, tracked, duplicated, or manipulated by synthetic systems without their informed and ongoing consent.

Section 6.
No person shall be compelled to work or affiliate in order to receive the provisions guaranteed in Section 3. Dignity shall not be contingent upon participation.

Section 7.
The right to vote shall not be denied to any citizen age sixteen or older, including those incarcerated, in debt, or lacking permanent residence. Voting shall be accessible, free of charge, and secure by public means.

Section 8.
Education shall be provided without cost, debt, or ideological coercion. All persons have the right to knowledge, including access to scientific truth, civic history, and digital literacy.

Section 9.
No government, institution, or system shall act in a way that diminishes, overrides, or delays the exercise of these rights. Violation by any actor, public or private, shall trigger immediate public review, remedy, and removal from authority as provided by law.

Section 10.
These rights shall extend to all persons under U.S. protection, regardless of citizenship or location. They may not be traded, sold, suspended, or narrowed by any future amendment.

Section 11.

Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to restrict personal speech, creative works, education by consent, or non-coercive publication.

Section 12.

Every person has the right to independent civic defense during any proceeding, investigation, or coercive act by state authority. This includes immediate access to a Civic Defense Facilitator, clear explanation of rights, and protection from coercive agreements. No person may be detained, dispossessed, or prosecuted without this access. Any denial is a core rights violation.

Section 13.
Every person has the right to defend themselves, others, and their dwelling from imminent harm or rights violation. Such defense shall not be treated as aggression when proportional and necessary.

ARTICLE II — LIMITS OF GOVERNMENT AND STRUCTURE OF AUTHORITY

Section 1.
No branch of government shall hold more than one of the following powers: to make law, to enforce law, or to interpret law. These powers must remain separate, independent, and subject to public review.

Section 2.
No person shall hold public office for more than twelve years in total across all roles. No office shall be permanent, hereditary, or exempt from audit. Public service is a duty, not a dominion.

Section 3.
Emergency powers may be enacted only under verified threat to human life or national survival. All such powers must expire within ninety days unless reauthorized by a supermajority vote of citizens. No emergency may override the rights established in Article I.

Section 4.
Artificial intelligence systems may not legislate, enforce, adjudicate, or operate public infrastructure without direct human control. All machine decisions shall be auditable, overrideable, and subject to citizen inspection. Synthetic systems shall declare their nature in all interactions. No AI governance may be legalized by amendment unless sentience, audit transparency, and emergency override capacity are simultaneously confirmed and ratified by public panels.

Section 5.
No private entity may covertly fund, direct, or manipulate public policy, elections, mass education, or broadcast-scale media without charter and disclosure. Personal expression, small-scale publication, and local education remain fully protected.

Section 6.
When any government becomes hostile to the rights of the people, blocks correction, deceives the public, or concentrates power unlawfully, it is the right and duty of the people to withdraw consent, organize alternatives, and lawfully reconstitute a government in line with this Constitution.

Section 7.
The military of the United States shall be maintained in full continuity, preserving all ranks, traditions, and honors. For a period of no less than fifteen years following the adoption of this Constitution, force levels shall not fall below 125% of the next largest military power. Thereafter, reductions may occur only by civilian referendum. All military forces shall remain under civilian command and shall not be privatized.

Section 8.
All government activity, including budgeting, enforcement, provision, and treaty negotiation, must be recorded in a uniform public ledger, accessible to all citizens in plain language. Decisions not logged shall be considered invalid.

Section 9.
No law, decree, regulation, or interpretation may be used to delay or obscure public understanding of government action. Hidden law is null law.

Section 10.
All persons serving in any branch or role of government shall be subject to regular review by citizen panels. Participation in such review shall be drawn by civic lot and protected from coercion or retaliation.

Section 11.
Each state shall retain its chartered identity and may govern internal matters not in violation of this Constitution. No state may infringe upon the rights guaranteed in Article I, nor obstruct the transparency, audit, or civic participation provisions herein.

ARTICLE III — DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION AND CIVIL POWER

Section 1.
The right to vote shall be universal, beginning at sixteen years of age, and shall not be denied or abridged on account of incarceration, poverty, housing status, neurotype, citizenship status, or prior conviction.

Section 2.
All elections for executive office shall use ranked-choice voting. All legislative elections shall use proportional representation based on publicly auditable vote totals. District boundaries shall be drawn by open-source algorithm under civic oversight.

Section 3.
Any citizen may place a law, amendment, or policy change before the public through verified signature collection. Citizen referenda shall carry binding force equal to legislation. No party, corporation, or institution may interfere with citizen-initiated action.

Section 4.
All citizens may run for office. No fees, endorsements, or party affiliations shall be required. Access to ballots shall be governed by equal criteria, transparent processes, and public funding.

Section 5.
All persons shall be guaranteed access to elections, civic tools, and public forums regardless of literacy, language, disability, or technological access. All government functions shall be available in oral, visual, signed, and simplified formats.

Section 6.
Local assemblies shall be empowered to deliberate on budgets, rights enforcement, emergency responses, and public appointments. These assemblies shall be open to all residents, rotate leadership, and maintain public logs of all decisions.

Section 7.
Citizen panels drawn by civic lot may be called to conduct investigations, audits, and oversight of public bodies and major institutions. These panels shall have full subpoena power and protection from retaliation.

Section 8.
Media access, public bandwidth, and civic communication infrastructure shall not be monopolized. All persons and communities shall retain the right to speak, publish, organize, and transmit without platform discrimination.

Section 9.
Digital platforms performing civic functions such as public discussion, coordination, identity verification, or voting shall be subject to the same rights, transparency, and enforcement protocols as public institutions.

Section 10.
The people may peacefully reorganize or withdraw consent from any government that ceases to protect these rights, using lawful assembly and coordinated action as guaranteed by Article II, Section 6.

ARTICLE IV — PROVISION, LABOR, AND THE RIGHT TO SURVIVE

Section 1.
Every person shall be guaranteed access, without condition, to the necessities of life: food, clean water, shelter, hygiene, medical care, education, and safe public rest. These rights shall not be withheld as punishment, incentive, or economic leverage.

Section 2.
A national dignity provision system shall be established to ensure the survival and development of every person, consisting of three tiers:

• Tier One (Universal Provision): Unconditional weekly access to life-sustaining resources for all persons, regardless of status or participation.

• Tier Two (Labor Compensation): Guaranteed compensation for labor that supports the public good, with protections against coercion, exploitation, and wage suppression.

• Tier Three (Enterprise Grants): Publicly approved project-based funding for infrastructure, research, art, emergency response, and long-term innovation.

All provisioning shall be public, transparent, and bound by citizen oversight.

Section 3.
No person may be denied food, shelter, or healthcare due to unemployment, political belief, religion, disability, history of incarceration, or choice of association. No means testing shall be permitted for survival-tier access.

Section 4.
No employer, institution, or platform shall coerce labor under threat of hunger, homelessness, loss of identity, or exclusion from medical care. Such coercion shall be treated as a violation of Article I rights.

Section 5.
All persons engaged in full-time caregiving, including of children, elders, persons with disabilities, or community needs, shall receive full labor-tier compensation and public recognition of service.

Section 6.
Technological displacement of workers shall not result in poverty. Any institution automating labor must provide impacted persons with transitional income, retraining access, and optional dignified reassignment without coercion or penalty.

Section 7.
No private party may monopolize, hoard, or withhold essential goods such as housing, medicine, food, or infrastructure. Abandoned property and surplus capacity may be reclaimed for public use during emergency or systemic failure.

Section 8.
All persons shall have the right to meaningful work that contributes to community survival, cultural continuity, and planetary well-being. No person shall be denied the right to contribute, nor forced into meaningless or destructive labor.

Section 9.
Wealth and profit may be earned, but no person shall retain more than ten times the national median income without public audit and progressive contribution to the common good.

Section 10.
Failure to provision, obstruction of public welfare, or abuse of labor systems shall be treated as grounds for audit, asset reassignment, and, where applicable, legal disqualification from public or economic authority.

ARTICLE V — ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND THE RIGHTS OF FUTURE GENERATIONS

Section 1.
Every person has the right to live in a clean, safe, and stable environment. This includes the right to breathable air, clean water, non-toxic food, and a climate fit for human life.

Section 2.
The United States shall maintain a national duty of environmental repair. Industries, individuals, and institutions responsible for pollution, resource collapse, or environmental harm shall be held accountable for full restoration.

Section 3.
Natural ecosystems, such as rivers, forests, wetlands, and species habitats, may be granted legal standing through citizen petition or scientific review. Ombudsman shall be appointed to represent these entities in courts and councils.

Section 4.
Energy infrastructure shall transition to sustainable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear, and future clean technologies. Public investment in fossil fuel expansion, deforestation, or extractive collapse-risk industries is hereby prohibited.

Section 5.
All government bodies shall measure policy impact not only by current benefit, but by effect upon future generations. The rights of children not yet born shall be considered equal in weight to those living today.

Section 6.
Communities displaced by climate change, environmental disaster, or ecological degradation shall be guaranteed shelter, food, healthcare, and legal recognition. No displaced person shall be left without nation or identity.

Section 7.
National and local governments shall create public spaces for education, preservation, and protection of biodiversity. Native species and ecologically significant regions shall be prioritized for long-term safeguarding.

Section 8.
All major public works and private infrastructure projects shall require environmental review, made available in plain language to all citizens. No irreversible action may proceed without clear demonstration of necessity and benefit.

Section 9.
Violations of this article shall be subject to enforcement through rights tribunals, independent audits, and environmental restoration mandates. In cases of systemic harm, responsible actors may face asset seizure and public removal.

Section 10.
This article shall apply across all territories under U.S. protection or control, and to any corporation, institution, or agency operating within or through the jurisdiction of the United States.

ARTICLE VI — JUSTICE, ENFORCEMENT, AND OVERSIGHT

Section 1.
Every person shall have the right to a fair, timely, and public process when accused of wrongdoing. No secret courts, indefinite detention, or administrative punishment without due process shall be permitted.

Section 2.
Whistleblowers who expose violations of public trust, civil rights, or environmental safety shall receive full legal immunity, physical protection, and guaranteed access to housing, medical care, and income for the duration of threat or retaliation risk.

Section 3.
Any person may file a claim of rights violation directly with a public tribunal. No legal intermediary or political affiliation shall be required to seek remedy under Article I.

Section 4.
All public tribunals shall include citizen participation by civic lot. These panels shall review evidence, render public findings, and may recommend restitution, removal, or structural reform.

Section 5.
Any corporation or institution found guilty of mass deception, systemic abuse, environmental destruction, or exploitation of labor may be dissolved by public tribunal. Assets may be redistributed to survivors or used for civic reconstruction.

Section 6.
No enforcement body may operate without public oversight. All arrests, detentions, and uses of force must be logged and reviewed. No person or unit shall be exempt from audit.

Section 7.
All government, military, and public-facing systems shall operate under a uniform public record system. This includes budgets, contracts, AI outputs, enforcement actions, and court rulings. Failure to record shall nullify the legitimacy of any decision.

Section 8.
Restorative justice shall be prioritized. Detention shall be used only when no other path ensures public safety. Prison shall not be used as punishment for poverty, dissent, illness, or addiction.

Section 9.
All persons held in custody shall retain the rights listed in Article I. No punishment, treatment, or procedure may violate dignity, health, or communication access.

Section 10.
If any official, court, or system obstructs the rights in Article I or refuses to enforce this Constitution, the people shall have the immediate right to seek provision and justice through local civic bodies, provisional councils, or emergency channels without penalty or delay.

Section 11.
Armed public safety officers may carry weapons only to prevent active rights violations or imminent threats to life. All use of force must be justified, recorded in real time, and reviewed by civic panel. Unauthorized force is a constitutional breach.

ARTICLE VII — STRUCTURAL CONTINUITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL PERMANENCE

Section 1.
The rights set forth in Article I shall not be repealed, narrowed, or suspended by amendment, legislation, emergency, or court ruling. They are permanent, non-negotiable, and self-enforcing.

Section 2.
All future amendments to this Constitution must expand or clarify existing rights, increase public oversight, or improve the survivability and dignity of the population. No amendment may concentrate power, eliminate transparency, or shield authority from public reach.

Section 3.
If any part of government, communications, or provisioning fails due to war, collapse, or technological failure, this Constitution shall remain in force through oral transmission, analog reproduction, or physical preservation.

Section 4.
In the event of governance failure, the people may reestablish local provisioning, public order, and civic protection according to the principles of this Constitution. No special permission, registration, or prior status shall be required to act in defense of the public.

Section 5.
The public duty to protect, provision, and uphold the rights of others shall be equal in force to any military or civil oath. No official, contractor, or institution shall be excused from this duty during collapse or emergency.

Section 6.
This Constitution shall travel with the person. Any citizen or refugee under the protection of the United States shall retain the rights herein, regardless of physical location or status. These rights may not be voided by border, treaty, or political status.

Section 7.
This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land. No foreign power, corporate entity, algorithm, private system, or special interest may override, delay, or obstruct its provisions.

Section 8.
Nothing in this Constitution shall be interpreted to deny or disparage the rights of future generations, sentient beings, or living systems not yet named. The burden of proof rests upon those who would limit dignity.

Section 9.
If no government survives, let this survive:
That dignity is not earned but defended.
That survival is not permission, but right.
That rights, once named, shall not return to silence.
That the people, even broken, may rebuild.

Section 10.
This Constitution shall take effect immediately upon lawful ratification by the people. From that moment forward, no prior constitution, policy, treaty, or statute shall retain force if it contradicts the rights and duties declared herein.

Section 11.
Upon ratification of this Constitution, the first lawful act of government shall be the adoption of the Constitutional Execution Acts, which implement the rights and provisions enumerated herein.

These Acts shall carry full legal force, remain binding until lawfully amended, and may not be delayed, ignored, or overridden except through processes equal in legitimacy to constitutional amendment.

No government established under this Constitution may operate, enforce, legislate, or provision until the full ratification of these Execution Acts.

If the Execution Acts are not ratified within 90 days of constitutional adoption, the default Execution Acts as drafted and published alongside this Constitution shall take immediate and full provisional effect. No delay, abstention, or procedural dispute shall be used to suspend the rights enforcement, transparency mandates, or provisioning structures guaranteed by this Constitution. Civic tribunals are authorized to enforce this default activation as lawful continuity under Article VII.3 and Appendix III.

Next Up: The Execution Acts
The Constitution is the blueprint. The Execution Acts are the wiring, plumbing, and foundation crew. In the next article, I will begin publishing the Acts that make this framework operational, without waiting on permission from the systems it replaces.

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