THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE AUTONOMOUS PERSON An ideology-independent declaration of rights for autistic and disabled people, drawing on Juche’s ideas of independence, creativity and consciousness

 British English edition · 9 November 2026 · Conceptual text: Doğukan Yegin

This is an original philosophical and rights-based adaptation inspired by the 1982 Juche text. It is not a complete

translation of that work, nor an official document of any state, party, the UN or the Council of Europe. Legal provisions are

presented in explanatory terms.

PRINCIPLE

Freedom to choose a spouse takes precedence over imposed rules of social equivalence.

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THE CENTRAL PROPOSITION

An autistic or disabled person is not condemned to the role, profession, family circle, economic class or

marriage expectations assigned by society. The centre of decisions about a person’s life must remain their own

will and equal rights.

The instruction to “marry your own kind” may describe someone’s private preference. When turned into a

hierarchy of exclusion or humiliation, however, it deserves criticism. One autistic person may wish to marry a

member of a royal dynasty; another may wish to marry a doctor or solicitor; another disabled person may

choose somebody from an entirely different background. Each example concerns the same freedom. Marriage

rests on the free and full consent of two adults, subject to applicable legal conditions.

This declaration does not require all disabled people to endorse monarchism, republicanism, Marxism or any

right-wing or left-wing political ideology. Universal rights and individual philosophical positions are distinct.

I. THE SOURCE PHILOSOPHY AND THE NEW INTERPRETATION

Kim Jong Il’s 1982 treatise On the Juche Idea presents an account of human beings centred on independence,

creativity and consciousness. The original work also explicitly advances a Marxist-Leninist reading of history,

class struggle, party leadership and socialist construction. This declaration reinterprets the first three concepts

without adopting those political aims. [J]

To call this text “Juche-inspired” is not to assert that historical Juche was originally non-ideological. Rather, this

is an expressly identified, independent philosophical reinterpretation. It places emphasis on the person’s

agency, the refusal to let society decide the entirety of one’s future, and the recognition of their creative

activity.

Independence does not mean having to do everything without assistance. A person may need accessible

information, advice, legal assistance or practical support; this does not automatically transfer their

decision-making authority to somebody else. CRPD Article 12 addresses support for exercising legal capacity

and respect for will and preferences; Article 19 addresses independent living and inclusion in the community.

[3][4]

INDEPENDENCE

The ability to direct one’s beliefs, relationships, place of residence, career and public participation according to

one’s own choices rather than being spoken for on the basis of disability.

CREATIVITY

Recognition that autistic and disabled people may contribute through art, science, software, entrepreneurship,

public service, skilled trades or other pursuits, without imposing a prescribed “gifted” stereotype.

CONSCIOUSNESS

Recognition of freedom of thought, information, expression and criticism, including different means of

communication and appropriate decision-making support.

SELF-RELIANCE

Keeping the person at the centre of their life while requiring institutions to make genuine choices possible

through accessibility and reasonable accommodation.

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II. REJECTING THE COMMAND TO “MARRY YOUR OWN KIND”

The instruction to “marry your own kind” may sometimes refer to practical compatibility or personal

expectations. But if it is transformed into an absolute boundary based on class, qualifications, income,

disability, nationality, family name, title or ancestry, it diminishes personal agency.

This philosophy does not place the choice of spouse within a caste system. A member of a dynasty, a doctor,

solicitor, engineer, teacher, manual worker, artist, student, unemployed person or anybody else has equal

human dignity and the same claim to self-determination. Occupation or dynastic background does not raise or

lower a person’s value as a potential spouse.

Individual priorities remain free. One person may prefer a spouse from royal or aristocratic circles; another

may prefer a professional colleague, a fellow autistic person or a non-disabled person. None of these priorities

becomes a compulsory rule for everybody else.

The opposition expressed here is not hostility towards every person living in Türkiye or elsewhere. It is an

intellectual rejection of the assumption that society has final authority over somebody’s private life. Family

members may express views, but social pressure should not substitute for two adults’ free will.

III. EQUAL EXAMPLES OF RELATIONSHIP AND MARRIAGE FREEDOM

Example A — An autistic adult may wish to marry an adult member of a reigning or historical royal house,

provided both choose to do so freely. Dynastic status does not make disability a legitimate automatic ground of

exclusion.

Example B — Another autistic adult may wish to marry an adult doctor or solicitor. Professional qualifications

do not override the other person’s independent will; nor does autism alone remove the autistic person’s

standing as a potential partner.

Example C — A disabled doctor or solicitor may wish to marry another disabled person or a non-disabled

person. Neither disability, education nor income establishes a hierarchy of worth in the freedom to choose a

partner.

Example D — An autistic person who does not wish to marry, wishes to postpone marriage or wishes to meet

people outside their usual social circle has the same right to self-determination. The right does not dictate a

particular model of relationship.

Legal context: CRPD Article 23 addresses non-discrimination in marriage, family and relationships and

recognises marriage based on the free and full consent of intending spouses. Article 16 of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights likewise centres free and full consent. Article 12 of the European Convention on

Human Rights sets out the right to marry subject to the relevant national laws. [2][6][7][8]

IV. TWENTY-FOUR CORE PRINCIPLES

01. Equal human dignity

No disability, form of autism, income level, class, family origin or political belief diminishes a person’s human

worth.

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02. Self-determination

Decisions about life must be approached with respect for the individual’s will and preferences.

03. Separating support from substitution

Requesting or receiving support does not imply relinquishing decision-making authority.

04. Free and full consent

Marriage and intimate relationships depend upon mutual, free and full consent.

05. No caste in marriage

Differences of dynasty, profession, income or social circle do not in themselves diminish a person’s choice of

spouse.

06. Freedom of preference

A person may prefer a partner from their own social background or a different one.

07. Freedom not to marry

Marriage is neither a measure of human worth nor a compulsory life goal.

08. Diversity among autistic people

Autistic people do not think, live or form relationships in a single uniform way; one model must not be imposed

on all.

09. Equality across disabilities

These principles are intended for disabled people with widely differing experiences and support requirements.

10. Legitimate communication

Spoken, written, supported and alternative means of communication deserve recognition.

11. Privacy

Diagnosis, family life, private correspondence, relationships and personal information deserve protection.

12. Accessibility

Public spaces, procedures, information and services should be accessible.

13. Reasonable accommodation

Necessary and proportionate adjustments should be provided to make substantive equality possible.

14. Education and learning

Autistic and disabled people are entitled to learning, specialisation and academic ambitions.

15. Work and enterprise

Professional development, forming companies, fair working conditions and career progression should be

supported.

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16. No class superiority

A doctor, solicitor, aristocrat, worker or unemployed person retains equal fundamental rights.

17. Expression and criticism

Individuals may criticise the state, society, traditions and public policy within the protections and limits of law.

18. Belief and conscience

Belief, non-belief and philosophical exploration do not lose validity on grounds of disability.

19. Political pluralism

Disabled republicans, monarchists, socialists, conservatives, liberals and others possess the same rights.

20. Questioning social expectations

Expressions such as “you cannot do that” or “that person is not for you” cannot stand as norms without reason.

21. Public duties

Public authorities should provide impartial services, accessibility, equal treatment and effective avenues of

redress.

22. Equality before the law

A disability diagnosis alone does not justify denying rights or disregarding a person’s will.

23. Speaking in one’s own voice

Disabled people should participate in shaping and scrutinising decisions that concern them.

24. Reciprocity and respect

One person’s freedom to seek a relationship coexists with another person’s freedom to choose or decline.

V. LINKS TO INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

This section does not invent new legal rules. It connects established human-rights provisions with the

philosophical principles described above. Application depends on the conventions binding on a state, relevant

national law and the circumstances of a case.

CRPD arts. 3 and 5

Human dignity, individual autonomy, non-discrimination and reasonable accommodation. [1]

CRPD art. 12

Equal recognition before the law, legal capacity, decision-making support and safeguards concerning will and

preferences. [3]

CRPD art. 19

Choice of where and with whom to live, together with access to services for community living. [4]

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CRPD arts. 21–22

Expression and access to information; respect for private life and personal data. [1]

CRPD art. 23

Equality in marriage, family and relationships; free and full consent to marriage. [2]

CRPD arts. 24, 27 and 29

Education; work and enterprise; participation in political and public life. [1][5]

UDHR arts. 1, 2, 16, 19 and 23

Equal human dignity, non-discrimination, free and full consent to marriage, expression and work. [6]

ECHR arts. 8, 10, 12 and 14

Private and family life, expression, marriage and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of Convention rights.

[7][8]

EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

Applies to EU institutions and to Member States when implementing EU law; it does not apply automatically to

every country as a universal treaty. [9]

VI. PRACTICAL RESPONSES TO SOCIAL STEREOTYPES

Pressure to “marry your own kind”

Ask what the individual and prospective partner freely choose; do not treat labels of social status as a legal or

moral veto.

“Autistic people cannot marry”

Reject sweeping claims; consider rights and the particular person’s circumstances individually.

“A royal, doctor or solicitor is not for you”

Reject automatic restrictions based on education, occupation or family title; respect both people’s autonomous

decisions.

“Disabled people should only marry disabled people”

Reject closed marriage circles based on disability status.

“If you need support, you cannot decide”

Distinguish the need for support from the recognition of will and preferences.

“Only exceptionally gifted autistic people matter”

Never make human dignity conditional on achievement, IQ, qualifications or productivity.

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“Tradition must always decide”

Tradition may be practised voluntarily; it is not in itself an authority to remove another person’s fundamental

rights.

“Disabled people must share our politics”

Rights are not dependent on joining, endorsing or remaining loyal to an ideology.

VII. DISTINGUISHING THE STATE, SOCIETY AND THE PERSON

A state’s constitutional order is distinct from the shifting customs of society. A person may recognise the

institutions of the Republic of Türkiye while challenging particular social norms; another may live under a

European constitutional monarchy. This declaration neither chooses a system of government nor imposes one.

Being “opposed to society” does not mean collectively condemning all citizens. Here it means rejecting coercive

expectations based on social status, disability, gender, occupation or family background. The individual’s voice

must not be reduced to a test of social approval.

Nor does this approach require disabled people to share a single political view. The idea of independence

drawn from Juche is redefined around equal rights and personal preferences, not loyalty to a party or class.

VIII. DECLARATION IN BRIEF

My life is not a role that society has chosen for me. Disability or autism is not a label that takes

away the right to choose a partner, think, create, work, live or shape the future.

One of us may wish to marry a member of a dynasty; another may wish to marry a doctor,

solicitor, worker, artist or somebody else. Another may not wish to marry at all. What matters

is not a prescribed notion of social equivalence, but equal human dignity, free will and mutual

consent.

Independence does not mean deprivation of support. Creativity is not reserved for those who

demonstrate exceptional achievement. Consciousness does not mean accepting one political

doctrine. Human rights provide a shared minimum guarantee across differences of belief.

This philosophy opposes the assertion that “society decides for you” with the principle that

“the individual has a voice in their own life”.

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SOURCES AND STATUS OF THE TEXT

[J] Kim Jong Il (1982), On the Juche Idea, uploaded primary text, chapter 2 and chapter 4.

[1] UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), official full text, arts. 3, 5, 9, 12, 13, 19, 21–24, 27, 29.

Official source page

[2] CRPD Article 23, marriage and family, United Nations.

Official source page

[3] CRPD Article 12, equal recognition before the law, United Nations.

Official source page

[4] CRPD Article 19, independent living and community inclusion, United Nations.

Official source page

[5] CRPD Article 27, work and employment, United Nations.

Official source page

[6] UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arts. 1, 2, 12, 16, 18, 19, 23, 26.

Official source page

[7] Council of Europe, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), arts. 8, 10, 12, 14.

Official source page

[8] European Court of Human Rights, Guide on ECHR Article 12, right to marry (updated 28 February 2026).

Official source page

[9] European Commission, when the Charter of Fundamental Rights applies (Article 51).

Official source page

Official English-language sources are provided for checking legal provisions. The interpretations in this declaration are

not presented as the opinions of those institutions or of the original work.