GovPol

There is No Theory of Everything

“Philosophy scratches at the various itches we have, not in order that we

might find some cure for what ails us, but in order to scratch in the right

place and begin to understand why we engage in such apparently irritating

activity.”

OUR ITCH

The Why & How of Government

Philosophy is not Neosporin.

Locke’s theory is not some healing balm.

It is an irritant.

“. . . our fathers brought forth

on this continenta new nation . . .

dedicatedto the

PROPOSITION

THAT ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL

A) RIGHTS: Life

LibertyProperty

“Give me liberty or give me death.”

THAT ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL

B) REASON, CONSCIENCE, MORAL SENSE:

The ability to knowright from wrongand, therefore,

the right to self-govern.

Where We Left Off on Friday

The tension between our

isms.

IdeologiesLiberalism: Rights of the Individual

Republicanism: Popular Sovereignty for the Common Good

4 Paths to Rights Recognition

1. State Legislatures2. State Referendums3. State Courts – Interpreting

State Constitutions4. Federal Courts – Interpreting

the U.S. Constitution

14th Amendment Due Process Clause

No state shall deprive an individual of life, liberty or property

without due process.

Two Constructions of DP Clause

1) Substantive Due Process: judges may identify

fundamental rights, heretofore unrecognized, i.e., our definition

of “liberty” is evolving.

Two Constructions of DP Clause

2. Procedural Due Process: the definition of liberty does

not change, i.e., it is “locked” in the past.

Majority Opinion – SDP:(T)hese liberties extend to certain

personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy. . . The identification and protection of fundamental rights is an enduring

part of the judicial duty . . .

Justice Thomas’ DissentBy straying from the text of the Constitution, substantive due process exalts judges at the expense of the People from

whom they derive their authority.

Dissent ContinuedLegislatures have repeatedly taken up

the matter on behalf of the People, and 35 States have put the question to the People themselves. In 32 of those 35 States, the People have opted to retain the traditional definition of

marriage.

32 of 35?

Republican VirtueThe willingness to

subordinate one’s self-interest to the common good.

QuestionCan we forgo VIRTUE? Can the common good

be achieved by competing self-interests?

RIGHTS AND THE COMMON GOOD

Don’t expect a final answer.

The point is to continue to ask the question.

Stability is not a static

phenomenon.

Ligitimacy

The acknowledgement by the people of the government’s authority.

What is the source of legitimacy?

Consent?

Egalitarian / Social Justice?

What Constitutes Social Justice?

John Rawls:We arrive at Social Justice

through the

Veil of Ignorance

Are Western Values Losing Their Sway?

Liberal Democracy and Communism:Both Western creations with universal ambitions.

CHINAAuthoritarian Capitalism -

Not universalists but mercantilists.