Principles and Tenets

The draft constitution contains both principles and tenets. The principles are contained in the preamble, and the tenets are contained in Article $1.$ The principles arose from the values that the Cardano ecosystem has held from the beginning. The tenets arose to define limits to how Cardano blockchain development can progress so that the ecosystem principles are not violated. Tenets could be expected to provide more explicit guidance to the Constitutional Committee than principles.

There are several challenges when defining principles and tenets, and motivated the questions for this topic. Some challenges include:

Keeping the principles and tenets brief.

The more we have, the easier it is to find inconsistencies between them.

Inconsistencies make it difficult for the Constitutional Committee to make

decisions, as they must weigh the value of one principle$/$tenet over another.

The more principles$/$tenets we have, the easier it is for one principle or tenet to

be picked as an argument for any opinion.

Ensuring completeness of tenets. If the tenets are intended to guide blockchain

development, have we captured the most important safeguards to uphold our principles?

Articulating the difference between a principle and a tenet, and how each should be used.

Community Questions

Do you believe the tenets in Article I, Section $1$ appropriately reflect the ethos of the Cardano Blockchain?

Yes

No

Unsure