Urbocentrism

Urbocentrism, also known as Mayzalonism from the Énqutsa name Mayzalónyín, is a light-blue political ideology that arose from the Énqusqan peninsula. The ideology is considered the oldest true-blue ideology in Vidina and was formed progressively by numerous poets, monarchs and political thinkers prior to Alutran colonisation. The core tenant of the ideology and from where it takes its name is the sovereignty and importance of the city within society, politics and the economy.

The modern ideology has expanded on this core concept to include ideas of federalism, direct democracy and self-determination. The ideology was famously studied by Ordrish zoologist Acoul Noyon, whilst on expeditions to Ordrish Énqusqó. It is believed he was inspired by the Énqutsan urbocentrist philosophy when he came to describe his ideas about municipal federalisation and many modern urbocentrists view noyonism as a branch of urbocentrism.

Origins
The unique geography and political history of the peninsula are believed to have provided the necessary backdrop for the ideology to have taken root. Archaeological and historical evidence has shown that the peoples of the peninsula have lived in dense, localised communities since the 8th millennium BCE, with the first walled city appearing in the 3rd millennium BCE. It is speculated that the dense jungle covering much of the peninsula drove communities together where they could more effectively create and maintain clearings. During the millennium-long interregnal period, these cities became extremely wealthy and developed largely independently from each-other, with every political structure focused around the running of a single municipality.

Towards the end of the interregnum, some of the city-states had grown influential enough to govern over multiple cities which reach its peak with the unification of the kingdoms of Cílonyósqu and Tsétlaxó into the Second Kingdom. Some 40 settlements across the south west of the peninsula were now governed under a single state apparatus, an idea that hadn't existed on the peninsula in over a millennium. Growing tension in the kingdom lead to a series of governmental reforms to increase the autonomy of the cities. An inscription that can still be read in the palatial complex at Tsétlaxó declares that under the Second Kingdom, it was the cities and their peoples who were sovereign and that the monarch ruled at their behest. The adoption of an early urbocentrist ideology by Póo Mín Tsetli has lead to some scholars retroactively titling her as the Sapphire Queen.

The stability and expansion of the Second Kingdom fostered and spread the ideology across the Kidal Sea. Within the borders of the kingdom the ideology became more entrenched in High Énqutsan culture. By the time of Alutran investment in the country, the cities had gained so much independence due to the eroded political hierarchy that many cities were able to sell themselves to Alutran nations without the monarch being able to intervene.

Politics
Urbocentralism is fundamentally a municipal federalist ideology and largely focuses around issues of political structure. The ideology tackles these issues on four levels: the individual, the community, the city and the state.

Individual
Urbocentrist ideas of the individual are much more modern compared to other tenants. [someone] wrote in his 1950 essay Who is that girl on the bridge about the role of the individual in the community. The essay explains the role of the individual is to act to the benefit of one's community and to further the interests of their community over their self-interest. Another post-war thinker, [someone else] wrote a series of poems exploring the concept of the individual and was a major proponent of positive rights. These are rights or guarantees to certain things. These may include subsidized education, subsidized housing, a safe and clean environment, universal health care, and even the right to a job with the concomitant obligation of the government or individuals to provide one. To this end, urbocentrists generally support social security programs, public works programs, and laws limiting such things as pollution.

Community
The basic building block of society, according to urbocentrist thought, is the community. Communities not only shape individuals but can also work together to achieve greater feats. In the second kingdom it was the communities within cities from where the monarch drew their support and by providing the cities with autonomy it allowed the communities to cooperate more effectively according to their needs.

The notion of community is believed to be a reflection of the role of the clan in ancient Énqutsa society. Decisions we’re often made for the benefit of the clan and this fostered a collectivist attitude amongst Énqutsa people that still exists today. In the modern day, the structure of clans and family has become much more liberal and this has allowed the role of community to expand beyond the traditional notions. [Someone] who wrote at length upon the changing nature of the Énqutsa clan system in the late 1800s discussed the way this breakdown of traditional family structures had impacted contemporary urbocentrist thought. Moving away from a notion of relatedness to people who lived in the same geographic location.

To the urbocentrist, the community is the level of governance best suited for managing day to day services and provision of funds. This is because a community is best positioned to take informed, appropriate action to support those struggling as supposed to a city, or a state, which exists to allow for cooperation and coordination between communities to ensure co-prosperity.