NationStates

-Basic Ideals-

Durnstism is the idea that the means of production should be owned by elected officials, and that the upper class should be abolished in favor of the middle and lower classes. The upper class is seen as hurtful to society and as an oppressive force which must be overthrown. The lower and middle classes are the ones who must free themselves from the upper class. They must work together to make their lives better. The means of production should be owned by elected owners, much in the same way a democracy works, but people run for the office of business/factory owner. In this way, it prevents the working class from being oppressed by their employers. The workers vote for who they wish to run the business.

History
In 1987, Gernonai was going through a massive recession, and 23% of people were unemployed. People were dying of starvation and the lower classes were angry at the upper class for causing this recession. There was, however, a large fear of socialism and communism. People wanted a middle ground, between capitalism and socialism, and in 1988, they got it. Alfred Durnst, a 65 year old political analyst, wrote a book titled The Third Way: Between Capitalism and Communism. In it, he outlined his thoughts on the position of business owner being a democratic office, one which anyone can be elected into and out of. He also raved against the upper classes, calling them "...corrupt, inept, and ultimately unhealthy for the nation." Durnst died in 2009, but not before 9 million copies of his book were sold throughout Gernonai. By 2012, a new political party entered Gernonaise politics. The Durnst Party.

Durnstism and Government
Durnst also outlined in his book the relationship between his ideas and the government. "In my opinion," he wrote, "the government can continue to do what they are doing, so long as they are not interfering with the election of business owners." Although, some speculate that this may have been simply to avoid the censorship of his book. He later said during an interview, "The government needs to stay out of the people's affairs, or even better, disappear altogether." This is still a subject of debate for many modern political analysts and people studying Durnstism. On one side, the "Conservative Durnstists" think that the government should remain in control, while the "Libertarian Durnstists" believe the government should be either abolished or not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the people.