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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 continent
a new nation . . .
dedicated
to the
PROPOSITION
THAT ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL
A) RIGHTS:
Life
Liberty
Property
“Give me liberty or give me death.”
THAT ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL
B) REASON, CONSCIENCE, MORAL SENSE:
The ability to know
right from wrong
and, therefore,
the right to self-govern.
Where We Left Off on Friday
The tension between our
isms.
Ideologies
Liberalism: Rights of the
Individual
Republicanism: Popular
Sovereignty for the
Common Good
4 Paths to Rights Recognition
1. State Legislatures
2. State Referendums
3. State Courts – Interpreting
State Constitutions
4. 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’ Dissent
By 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 Continued
Legislatures 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 Virtue
The willingness to
subordinate
one’s self-interest to
the common good.
Question
Can 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.
CHINA
Authoritarian
Capitalism Not universalists but
mercantilists.