Create a Country

We'll review each other's in the next round. With regards to culture and fashion, there are no restrictions on them. Metropotamia would have a cultural setting similar to Weimar Germany, and there would be a rapid rate of cultural advancement in fine arts, literature, music and architecture. Fashion would be completely unregulated, other than the artisans, who work independently of the state, may produce and sell to state-owned outlets. Any person may wear whatever article of clothing they desire; though in the workplace, there would be a dress code. The state does not infringe upon a person's right to self-expression, unless that self-expression is harmful to others, so there would be no weapons allowed in public. Gun control is tight, with a Ministry of Firearms controlling the flow of guns. People are permitted to have guns for sport, therefore automatic weapons, handguns, magazine-fed weapons, high-calibre and weapons designed for anti-personnel use. This would be restricted to shotguns and .22 rifles, and one would need to apply for a license to own one, demonstrating that it is required for their livelihood, such as a farmer or a gamekeeper. CCTV would come as a standard in every house, so in the event of an intruder, just cause for the use of deadly force must be put forward by the killer, with video evidence. The CCTV footage is completely private, an is only stored by the homeowner. In public, there are to be no firearms, or locking or fixed blades are permitted, so Swiss Army Knives are fine, since their blades have limited use in combat. Adoption is permitted and managed by the state, with children's homes set up in every komunumo. Children who find themselves without parents, or who come from abusive backgrounds are fully provided for and coexist with children from other backgrounds at school and out of school. The criminal justice system is based largely upon the Norwegian model. There are two categories - those who can be rehabilitated and the mentally ill. Criminals who can be rehabilitated, such as thieves, committers of manslaughter and gang members enter prisons for predetermined amounts of time, and while there are taught how to become productive members of society. They can perform jobs whilst in prison, all of which pay them the minimum hourly wage to ensure that they emerge with the skills and money necessary to reenter society. Each criminal is considered on a purely individual basis, and at the end of their sentence, they are subject to a review by a board, and have a probation period to ensure that they no longer need the assistance of the state. Criminals who cannot be rehabilitated are obviously suffering from a mental condition, be it kleptomania, schizophrenia or psychopathy, and are guaranteed free treatment in institutions. They are reviewed automatically every five years, though they can be reviewed before that if their psychiatrist recommends it. Once released, they are monitored for a year, and have to attend sessions of therapy until their psychiatrist ends the treatment. Institutionalising criminals has a maximum term of ten years sentenced, but they require approval before release, so the sentence can be repeated. Since most crime occurs due to social deprivation, the state's social programmes would reduce this considerably, and if an area has a high crime rate, the provincial government launches an inquiry and reports back on the findings, as well as proposals to reduce crime. Education with regard to substance abuse is heavily invested in, and due to the legalisation of drugs, there would be less drug-related crime and the dealers would lose their monopoly. Drug dealing and trafficking are both still illegal; drugs are not allowed on planes, in government buildings other than the pharmacies and in the workplace, and consumption is prohibited inside, similar to alcohol. Abortion is legal before information about the child's gender or other irrelevant characteristics are disclosed to the parent, unless a serious disability or deformity is discovered in the foetus, or if the mother's life would be in danger. Before then, the mother may have a free, anonymous abortion in government clinics. Contraception is free for people under 25, as it helps people to advance their careers before having a family, and is subsidised for those above that age. Euthanasia is free and legal, if signed by a doctor and the patient, and the patient is capable of giving informed consent. If not, then the patient's close relatives or personal carer can grant or deny permission, though the doctor's signature is still required. Racism, Religious Intolerance and Sexism is prevented via acts similar to the Race Relations Act, which prohibit employers from hiring or not hiring based on race, religion or gender, and there are regular probes to ensure that this is being applied. These come in the form of civil servants applying for positions and giving several fake applicants equal qualifications, though changing characteristics such as gender or race. This is normally identified through the names, and departments can be investigated and people reprimanded for their actions. Education largely follows the Finnish model, with highly paid teachers, Montessori learning and a focus on developing critical thinking and reasoning from an early age. There are no uniforms, homework, exams, and students are judged based on coursework, practicals and references from their teachers. Compulsory education starts at the age of three, and continues until the age of eighteen. After that, they have several options, such as going straight into work, going into an apprenticeship or going to university. The application process starts at the beginning of the final year, and they are admitted based on their references, coursework and practical skills. They are granted the full citizen's income when they leave school, and students on courses that are needed are given extra income of up to the equivalent of "2,500 (about $4,000). In primary education, students are taught their regional language, be it English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Spanish, etc, Esperanto and one other regional language. Students that excel in languages can go to extra-curricular classes to learn a language from outside Metropotamia, such as Arabic, Russian or Chinese. Grades in languages are decided based on practicals, which essentially consist of conversations of varying difficulty that students have time to prepare for and can choose when in the year they are. There are all the classes that currently exist, and classes in dialectics and current affairs are added to timetables. Periods last for forty minutes, with a five minute break in between each one. The national day is May Day, to commemorate the struggle of workers emancipating themselves, and the national anthem is La Internacio (The Internationale in Esperanto), but is only played at the May Day Parade, at the beginning of international sporting events and at the beginning of Parliament. It is a sort of anti-national anthem, telling the international proletariat that they are one, and that change does not come from above. It is perfect for the cultural unification of Metropotamia, and peacefully encourages democratic socialism across the world. The national motto is 'Libereco estas nur privilage etendita, krom se guis de ciuj', or 'Freedom is but privilege extended, unless enjoyed by all'; and the slogan of the ruling party in this multi-party democracy, the Party for Liberty and Equality, is 'Ne ekzistas libereco sen egaleco. Ne ekzistas egaleco sen libereco', or 'There is no freedom without equality. There is no equality without freedom.' Elections are every five years without fail, so the government cannot call them when it suits it. There is proportional representation, with district councils being elected by the people and occupied by the people of the district. Another round of elections takes place in which people vote for the ruler of their commune, and the results of the two elections determine which party wins the provincial and regional elections, and eventually, the federal elections for who is president of Metropotamia. The Prime Minister is appointed by the president, and this is announced before the elections take place. Fiscal and monetary policy decisions are decided by a core of technocrats in the federal and regional governments, though spending is decided in a series of communal meetings which all residents of the commune are allowed to attend and make decisions on where to spend the money that is left over. The requirements for social, law enforcement and infrastructure spending are posted by the regional governments, and the excess is decided by the population. This means that the population can have a say on the decisions that directly affect it, but at the same time, some decision making is removed from them due to imperfect knowledge. You give some more policies and then we'll assess each other's countries in R3.