# citizens first (ranked)

*Ordinarily means:* the principle that a state should put its own citizens' interests before those of non-citizens

A collective self that narrows its boundary by keeping the walls of its members first, above the walls of others who live in its land.

- Computed level: L16 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: published  ·  Domain: agency

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [collective self](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-collective-self.shared), [boundary](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-boundary.limit), [first](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-first.order), [above](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-above.spatial), [keep](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-keep.maintenance), [live](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-live.biological), [land](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-land.geography), [narrow](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-narrow.spatial), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [member](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-member.social), [others](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-others.distinct-entities)

**Through:** Everyone in the land is inside the reach of its government, but the self model orders whose walls it keeps, so the boundary works as a ranking and not a closed door.

**Novel properties:**
- a boundary that ranks instead of excludes
- presence in the land without equal keeping

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-citizens-first.ranked*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-citizens-first.ranked.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*