How would a country run by autistics and aspergians look?

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I created a near-future fictional ASD "country" in the form of a United Nations Human Rights Territory, which I call Newmind. The constitution of Newmind, which self-governs for internal but not international matters, mandates specified ASD-oriented civil rights. It also permits anyone "on the spectrum" ("Spectrics") to apply for citizenship/residency.

All citizens of Newmind are also citizens of Greater North America (a near-future union of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada).

NTs are permitted citizenship/residency in Newmind only in the cases of (i) specified employment; (ii) minor children of Spectrics; or (iii) spouses of Spectrics.

For a short story featuring interactions between Newminders and NT Greater North America, visit www.ethicalantics.com

I am a historian, or at least I am going to be. I've had a keen interest in psychology and sociology as well, which would probably make me a keen PR person (as a bonus I am an INTJ). I know that Public Relations is basically propaganda. As the guy who gave it that name, Edward Bernays, was the person who changed the name Propaganda to Public Relations. I encourage you to learn about what this man has done because he has done a lot. Everywhere from manipulating the government, to getting SIGMUND FREUD, HIS UNCLE, into the spotlight. This man manipulated what the dream for Americans was and turned it into a monster. He believed that Public Relations was a good thing and that it could never be corrupted, but he was wrong. His propaganda techniques are now used in advertisements, in politics, in the military, in foreign relations, etc.

The point of me saying all this is that though he did mess up America a lot by doing this, he also created a way to change it. Propaganda is a tool, much like a gun, that can be used for good or evil. If say, one of us were to gain control... we could manipulate (in a good way) people to accept us into society. mwahaaahaaahaa

No stigma attached to autism. People just get tired of dealing with troublesome people, and let's face it, as nt's, we're hard to relate to, talk to, and reason with. Normal people need to feel good about themselves. We need answers. When people see that they can't help us with empty words and eoncouragements they lash out to sooth their own ego. It's much easier than facing the truth of how simple and ignorant they are, and how different and free minded we are. That's not stigma, it's outright bias, and complicit rejection to any other opinion than one you agree with.

As to the statement about terrorist attacks, no one would touch us. I suspect that free of the constraint of money, capitalism, and backwards thinking, we would be able to develop advanced weapons in less then 6 months. I would say in 10 years we would be the mecca of civilization. The entire government ran by a decentralized voting mechanism, by which every citizen would vote on every issue, and all manual labor and repetitive tasks performed by machines. Thus freeing us to research and develop advanced technology. We would have no infantry. Only machines designed to disarm and subdue, not kill. Our rule of law would be simple: those who do wrong die or are kicked out. Anyone who doesn't do some form of work is kicked out. Etc. We would be a society of merit and strict rules. It wouldn't be communism exactly. It would 100% freedom and democracy, with the condition that you play some role in the society. My opinion.

Of course no one would touch us. Who wants to go near a country in ruins, where emaciated scavengers kill each other over what few scraps of food haven't been eaten by feral dogs?

That's what it would look like. I wouldn't want to go there!

Wow you have a low opinion of us, don't you?
We're different not inferior, AJ.

When it comes to running a functioning society, I believe that we are in fact inferior.

I don't think anyone has discussed this yet but if the world was run by Autistic people the welfare system in this country would be a nightmare. In addition to providing schooling, hospitals, police etc the government would also have to provide the masses services for the problems people on the spectrum face, whether it be sensory issues or communication difficulties, living independently plus many others.

Not just but if the entire country is autistic what that would mean is that around 60% of the country may have a more severe form of the condition and require additional support from government. Typewriters would have to be produced for millions of people.

Not just that of course but since other conditions are so common with Autism, epilepsy would affect something like 33% of the population. That's a massive number of people to take care of.

Recognizing limitations isn't the same as believing the people impacted by them are inherently inferior. One can be less capable in some categories, it doesn't make them inferior in dignity or value as human beings. Someone who weighs 96lbs isn't inferior as a person, but they're probably not your best choice to be a body guard.

Wouldn't it make sense to start with something more realistic like a city or town founded somewhere by mostly by people who have aspergers or autism, in some countries at least, cities are still bound by state and country laws, but they also have their own laws created by people who live there to suit them better as long as those laws still abide by the others. Also if there were an "Autistica", why would it need to only be people with autism living in it. Way I see a country like that, it would be more so people with autism are equal to people without, and due to a higher concentration of people with autism, people without who grew up there I would think would be more used to people with autism, and understand the differences better, reducing the amount of bullying and discrimination due to ignorance.

Hey to all of ya'll still discussing on this thread. I have created a thread for a test country run by autistic people.

viewtopic.php?t=331286

An autistic state already exists on the banks of the Danube. It is yet to be settled though.

http://autisticstate.prophpbb.com/topic47.html
Here is the map of the area.

http://imgur.com/t72Sa9M

I looked at it, and can't really tell whether it is a joke or an actual thing, if it is an actual thing, cool but there didn't seem to be many people commenting or anything.

It is an actual thing, me and another guy went to Croatia last year to claim it, but unfortunately we were beaten by Liberland and due to the publicity the police were very wary of anyone in that area. The group has become dormant due to lack of interest/commitment. Maybe that will change if we get a large enough group of people to commit to the project, looking at how Liberland has developed, it does have a chance of success. If we have enough people, we could even take Siga from Liberland.

I think the measure by which we can determine when a true autistic culture and society has been achieved, is the degree to which we are able to help and nurture all of our own people, on a permanent and sustainable basis. The physical place, norms and building plans are all of secondary importance to this basic test.

A large part of the climate of rejection/ostracization surrounding autism, in NT culture, is fueled by the burdens (perceived and actual) that are placed on the caregivers of people who are on the more highly-pronounced part of the autism spectrum. As a result, while NT children are seen to have a "future" that is independent of the supports they received from their family in early life, non-NT children do not share in this same vision of an independent future. For various reasons, Western culture has not provided for a place to fulfill this destiny.

That future is in our hands, and is our responsibility to achieve if we wish to declare an autistic culture as an equal, ethnographic group.

To achieve this, I would say that there have to be more fundamental discussions taking place regarding, for example, a universal language that is accessible to everybody on the autism spectrum. I suspect that it would be far more visual than auditory/phonetic in nature. This is only one example, but it underscores how many aspects of the culture are shaped by administering the simple test stated above.

Strangely enough, I don't even need to pick them up because they come up to me of their own free will anyway. Even though I wouldn't call myself a "cat person" (or "dog person") they seem to sense something about me, something familiar.

Anyway, the nation of "Aspergia" would perhaps be better off having an entire planet to itself (terraformed Mars?), because eventually the outsiders, with their abrasive personalities and need for constant adventure, would try to force their way in. We would need a strong navy to keep the invaders out and our own nuclear deterrent. I simply cannot imagine the outside world keeping its distance, and I would not want a repeat of what happened when Cortes arrived in the New World.

"Blue banner". Not the blue puzzle piece though.