The Constitution

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”
— Patrick Henry

Opportunities

Every citizen has an equal right to strive for the American Dream. That doesn’t mean they can achieve it readily. Achievement depends on opportunity and opportunity often depends on conditions outside of one’s control, in particular the conditions of one’s birth. We are born naturally equal, but not in social or economic conditions.

It therefore becomes the task of the electorate to decide how to remedy those inequities so that they do not become endemic and permanent. Education and training, attempts to create full employment, access to housing and health care, subsidies to create an affordable food supply, all have been policies tried over the decades here–supported by the compassion and sense of fairness of the American electorate–to spread access to such opportunity for all our people.

Golden Egg

There is an old story that apologists for Big Business like to tote out every once in a while about not killing the goose that laid the golden egg. In their view, the wealthy and the entrepreneurs need to be coddled so that they will continue to lay the eggs for the rest of us.

The reality is that we are all together that golden goose producing wealth. Privileging the CEO’s, bankers, and entrepreneurs at the expense of everyone else is like the stomach keeping all the food, and letting the rest of the bird die. The real moral: in the end we all rise or fall together.

Gross National Happiness

In King Khesar’s coronation address on December 17, 2006, the 5th King of Bhutan proclaimed that fulfilling the vision of Gross National Happiness will be one of the primary responsibilities of his reign.

Gross National Happiness consists of nine core dimensions:
1. Psychological Well-being
2. Time Use
3. Community Vitality
4. Culture
5. Health
6. Education
7. Environmental Diversity
8. Living Standard
9. Governance

Body of Public Servants

I want to do absolutely nothing for my government; just like I want to do nothing at all “for” my hammer or my laptop, except for keeping them in good working order. My government is a body of public servants, their payroll being sustained via the morally corrupt (and painfully necessary, for now) route of coercive taxation.

The government as we know it is a sad compromise, a troubling presence that has to be kept to minimum – not some kind of moral authority, embodiment of national spirit or democratic expression of our collective goodness. It is a machine, very unsafe in operation; a veritable mangler.

But both “liberals” and “conservatives” are all too happy to worship the same two-faced idol of statism. The left face twisted into the passive-aggressive feminine mask of the Nanny State, the right face – a stern, “patriotic” visage of the Big Brother.

Deserve Better

While the rich get richer, even basic needs such as housing are out of the reach of the majority. At the same time government bureaucracy increasingly infringes on people’s lives making people feel smothered, overworked and bored. This frustration leads to angry and destructive behavior which provides an excuse for even more rules and regulations.

Unfortunately, we see our lives being increasingly pushed to be competitive, violent and stressful, and for many, pointless and deeply unsatisfying. There seems to be no alternative to a life mostly spent trying to make ends meet, in front of a PlayStation or TV, or indulging in alcohol or anti-depressants, broken only by brief holidays. For the better off, travel and immersion in other cultures provides the color and excitement that’s lacking in their own lives. I think people deserve better.

Dynamic Government

What is perfect for me today may not be perfect when a new situation arises. Let’s say I live in my perfect city, one day, someone kills someone else, half the people want to do one thing the other half want to do another, what happens now? Government has to be dynamic, which is one reason many people look at government as bad, because no matter what happens, someone HAS to be unhappy.

Entitled to Rights

Everyone is born on the same level with respect to natural rights, and they are entitled to use those rights to find their own place in the natural aristocracy. There’s absolutely nothing unjust or oppressive about this system, because if you don’t like where you are in the hierarchy, then you are entitled to change it. No one can keep you down. What a lot of people don’t realize, though, is that no one has to pull you up, either.

Governs Least

If it follows that the government that governs least governs best, then the government that doesn’t govern at all governs best of all. The only government that doesn’t govern at all is the one that doesn’t exist.

Welcome

Have you ever felt that your government, any government for that matter, isn’t doing its best? Have you felt frustrated at the lack of competence demonstrated by elected officials? Have you felt as though you have suggestions for improving government? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this blog is for you.

This site was created with the purpose of providing a forum for political philosophers, both expert and novice alike, to announce their ideas/suggestions to the blogosphere and to engage in debates in the hope that through advice and reasoning, a “near-perfect” government may be formed.

There are several unique pages covering various branches of the government. Keep in mind that the government alluded to is a theoretical government, not any one country’s, per se. Imagine that this blog was to be the blueprint for creating the first government on Mars. What would the “perfect” government be and how would it be accomplished? By approaching the discussions this way, I hope that there will be no partisan or foreign biases, allowing for a more productive debate in each topic.

This is my first blog, and I am open for any constructive criticism, therefore do not be afraid to contact me with any suggestions you may have for the blog. Thanks and enjoy.