# What is Neocracy?

**Status:** Canonical definition (English name for the governance model; NNP / नव नीति पार्टी is the electoral demonstration.)

**Website source of truth (code):** `web/neocrates-frontend/src/lib/neocracy.ts`

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## One-line

**Representative democracy, redesigned at the rule level.**

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## Definition

Neocracy is a **derivative of representative democracy**—not a replacement for it.

- **Voters** still choose representatives through elections.
- **Representatives** must pass a **public competence filter** (examination and published rules) before candidacy.
- **Manifestos** are **binding performance contracts** with quantified targets, transparency, audit, and **consequences** for breach.
- **Parties and voters** commit to **optimizing measurable outcomes** under explicit **constraints**:
  - **Optimizer (primary):** improve intergenerational social mobility (Social Mobility Index).
  - **Constraint (floor):** universal basic welfare—no citizen below defined minima for food, shelter, and basic healthcare while measurable public wealth exists.

Neocracy does not ask citizens to trust virtue or charisma. It asks them to verify rules, data, and contracts.

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## What Neocracy is not

- Not technocratic rule without elections.
- Not a single-leader movement.
- Not “better people”—it is **better rules** inside democratic machinery.

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## Relationship to organizations

| Name | Role |
|------|------|
| **Neocracy** | Name for the governance model (rules above). |
| **Neocrates** | Standards body (neocrates.org): examination, SMI, transparency, certification infrastructure. |
| **NNP (Nava Niti Party)** | First party implementing the model in electoral politics (proof-of-concept). |

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## Retired framings

Do not define Neocracy primarily as “finding good people,” a personality brand, or a state-specific project. Geography and beachhead are chosen by mechanism and data, not favoritism.