No, I'd say you handle power extremely well. For you. It sounds like your planned utopia is basically taking the current societal model and making small-ish modifications to it, rather than what would realistically be required; a revolution in both a psychical and ideological sense. I'd like to focus on the child-rearing portion specifically:
"The child's rights are extremely minimal; They earn their rights with age and showing competence. A child is not allowed Internet or authority over long-term decisions until they are at least 16 years old, at which point they are allowed to take their first steps into important decision-making by arguing their cases to a counselor for two years before they're considered an adult at 18, at which point they continue making their decisions on their own."
Ok, and? You seem to be arguing that the current basic educational framework as it stands (assuming first-world education is the standard) is enough to establish a solid grounding into stable adulthood - but to me it just sounds like you're an old person complaining about "those darn kids these days". Children aren't just small adults; they have to grow into something resembling a respectable person through solid teaching and a responsible upbringing. What example should they follow? Is the granting of rights and privileges enough to motivate self-actualization in and of itself? Will they "argue their cases" against a standardized checklist of approved responses (and if so, how can you guarantee the system won't devolve into corruption and favoritism, as such systems often do)?
Well I wasn't complaining "those darn kids" I was more complaining "those damn parents." Every parent is trying to push a lot of responsibility and ideology onto a very young kid, hence the seven-year-olds who want to change gender cus mommy is a special little snowflake who likes girls. Take away a kid's ability to make long-term decisions until they're old enough to be in charge of their own body before you give them power to destroy said body. There's no intellectual challenge to a teenager who only hangs around people who tell them what to think. Make independent thoughts a mandatory requirement (or join the vegetables.)
I wasn't thinking of any response being "approved" against a checklist as such, either. I was originally going to implement a rule that all learning must have factual basis, in the sense that if a hypothesis in the scientific community holds up to peer review and testing, then it is approved to be taught in a school. But that would mean that kids would start having a lack of abstract thinking, and controversial ideas would be taboo, and that'd just be an even bigger problem in the long run. Instead then I figured that the curriculum might as well stay as is, but when they hit an age where you start having financial independence and start thinking of higher education or career, then there will always be a mandatory adult present who is knowledgeable of what that shit takes, how realistic those plans are, and whether someone can show, in order:
- self-preservation
- self-reliance
- rational conversation when facing opposition
It wouldn't be so much checking to see that the responses are approved, but that the kid isn't just pulling shit out of their ass and rambling incoherently. I don't care if a kid goes left, right, center or side-to-side, but they must be able to formulate that opinion into a sentence that makes sense;
"Do you love our leader?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because he's a racist."
"What makes him a racist?"
"Because dad said he is."
"Failing marks, see you next week. I'll reserve you four hours of research time on the library computer for Friday, bring back any material that argues your case and memorize your key points. You get passing grades once you can either prove he's a racist or you switch your opinion to reflect whatever information you can find, which you must then argue for while I'll take the opposition. Good day."
As for corruption and favoritism, there's no way. All systems fall that way. This is my utopia, and utopias are impossible to achieve. The utopia thought experiment more reflects your own attitude and what you wish was the norm for all people, hence why I think any art vandals would be executed. I fucking despise spitting on someone's hard work (physically, I mean - metaphorically it's all good.)
