We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed…

- The Declaration of Independence

The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: sounds good to me. These rights pretty much cover the purview of government, not counting the obligation to protect the biosphere - but that’s a subject for another day. For now we’re dealing with what governments owe their humans. First, some clarification of terms according to my sense of them.

The right to Life implies a duty to protect from harm. Policies that protect the right to life keep evolving in line with what’s possible and feasible. Think clean water regulations or standards of medical practice.

Per the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Liberty is  “the exercise of the natural rights of every man or woman [which[ has no bounds other than those that guarantee other members of society the enjoyment of these same rights” The principle of liberty leads directly to the ideal of limited government.

The Pursuit of Happiness requires a bit more unpacking. The contemporary sense of happiness mixes "lots of positive emotions" with life satisfaction. That's too small, too trivial, for me. I'm looking for a sense of happiness that is less about feeling good and more about having a sense of meaning and purpose. As it turns out, my way of thinking about happiness is pretty close to that of the Founding Fathers.

When Thomas Jefferson penned the Mighty Declaration, happiness was more than "being in the zone" or an internal state that accompanies smiling and laughing.  Happiness was frickin' virtuous! Happiness was akin to “felicity”, a sense of wellbeing that comes from fruitful labor in harmony with the world. Ok, that's not exactly a clear concept - but go with the feeling.  When you’re happy, you are honoring something bigger than yourself; you are both grateful and wanting more, ploughing the fields of what life has offered. Humility and ambition – together at last!  

And then, in the olden days, to "pursue" wasn't to seek or chase after but to practice, as in to practice medicine or law. So the right to pursue happiness was the right to practice a felicitous vocation.

So how would these rights translate into specific policy goals? I’m not going to pretend that my favored policy prescriptions follow naturally from some core principles. To do so would be an example of motivated reasoning. That said, here is my general approach to governance:

Pro-business: promote capitalism as the engine of prosperity without being naive about its potential to do harm.

Regulatory Caution: accept the necessity of government regulations while mindful of trade-offs, costs, and the possibility of unintended consequences. 

State Rights: embrace states as "laboratories of democracy" that enact and test experiments in policy without directly affecting the rest of the country.

Fiscal Responsibility: assume a "good householder" approach to government finances, with a focus on efficiency, accountability, and restraint.

Consequentialist: care more about outcomes than intentions; avoids speculation about the motives or character of opponents.

Liberty-loving: recognize that personal agency and freedom from coercion are essential to human thriving

So far, so Republican. Then again, I also support the following:

Universal Health Care: healthcare is a universal right and nobody should become sick or poor out of an inability to access medical attention or treatment. Aligns with the right to life.

Effective Safety-Net:  everyone has the right to shelter, food, and opportunity. Necessary for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Adult Student Basic Income: a time-limited basic income for adults to acquire and update skills. In these days of rapidly changing labor markets, lifelong skill upgrading is essential to the pursuit of happiness.

Which is why I’m not a Republican. Governing is hard.

—

Note: This post was originally published January 7, 2020 (here).