Question #8: What is the fundamental character of human beings?

July 5, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · 1 Comment 

| 10 Foundational Questions | Introduction | Question #1 | Question #2 | Question #3 | Question #4 | Question #5 | Question #6 | Question #7 |
 

“Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it… The foundation of every government is some principle or passion in the minds of the people. The noblest principles and most generous affections in our nature, then, have the fairest chance to support the noblest and most generous models of government.” - John Adams in Thoughts on Government

 
At the core of political philosophy and constitutional government is the issue of human nature; we can’t know how to govern unless we fully understand whom is being governed. Designing and managing a polity must take into consideration who human beings are, how and why they act, and how to best promote their happiness.

Human nature is composed of two things: 1) motivations, and 2) tendencies.

Human Motivation

The brilliant Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises formulated a methodology for understanding human action that he called “praxeology.” Mises deduced fifty laws of human action, which include the following highlights:

  1. Choice determines all human action.
  2. Human action is purposeful; people make choices for reasons.
  3. Action is the attempt to change the state of being for a more satisfactory state.
  4. No person does anything except what they think will improve their satisfaction.

The core of Mises’ laws is that we act to increase our satisfaction. From getting up from the couch to get a soda, to going to church, to perpetrating violent crime, every human action is designed to bring the actor more satisfaction than he or she currently feels.

A well-designed body politic, then, will allow its citizens to seek and gain satisfaction in any way they see fit, as long as they do not encroach upon the unalienable rights of others. As the Roman statesman Cato said, “By liberty, I understand the power which every man has over his own actions, and his right to enjoy the fruit of his labor, art, and industry, as far as by it he hurts not the society or any members of it, by taking from any member or by hindering him from enjoying what he himself enjoys.”

Human Tendencies

Are human beings good, or evil? Are we fallen beings, or are we enlightened beings of light and love? Do we seek depravity, or degeneracy?

Yes.

It seems like most philosophers have held the either/or view of human nature; some say we are good, and some say we are bad. It seems clear to me that we are both, that inherent to every individual is the potential for divinity and degeneracy.

Why It Matters

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Filed under: Constitution, Culture, Government, Human Nature, Liberty, Philosophy, Politics, Service, Statesmanship
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Question #7: What are “legitimate foundation” and “legitimate authority” in political philosophy?

June 24, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment 

| 10 Foundational Questions | Introduction | Question #1 | Question #2 | Question #3 | Question #4 | Question #5 | Question #6 |
 

“The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority. –Alexander Hamilton

 
Simply put, legitimate foundation means the will of the People at large, while legitimate authority is the express permission granted by the People to the government to perform some function.

Put together, they form the philosophical foundation of the powerful idea that man does not exist for the state, but that the state exists for man.

Legitimate Foundation

The idea that the government should exist according to the will of the People and solely to benefit the People at large was revolutionary in the 18th Century. Previously, governments primarily benefited those governing, or special interests.

The American Founders taught that the will of the People, as expressed through constitutional means, is the only solid, sustainable, and legitimate foundation of republican government.

This does not mean, however, that they were referring simply to the concept of majority rule alone, as we learn from Federalist Paper #51; the idea is to guide the nation by the will of the majority, while protecting minority rights (i.e. preventing the majority from taking private property).

Legitimate Authority

Thomas Jefferson spoke of legitimate authority in the Declaration of Independence when he wrote, “…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”

The United States Constitution was the first (and to my knowledge the only) constitution to be instigated by, or to have originated in, the People, then ratified by the People. In other words, the People, through their colonial representatives, called for the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Representatives at the Convention represented the People within their respective territories–not the government itself.

They were authorized by the People to do the will of the People. Our Constitution was initiated and created from the bottom up, rather than dictated from the top down. Then, after its creation by the representatives of the People, the Constitution was taken back to the People–once again through their colonial representatives–to be ratified, or accepted.

Previously, the historical norm was for the government–whether through a monarchy, aristocracy, or other form of ruler’s law–to dictate from the top down the laws and constitutional forms that the People must obey. As David Hume wrote in 1752, “Almost all the governments which exist at present, or of which there remains any record in story, have been founded originally either on usurpation or conquest or both, without any pretense of a fair consent or voluntary subjection of the people.”

Why It Matters

To drive the point home with these critical concepts, think of Read more

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