Where I Stand

by Peter Saint-Andre

2025-04-08

Spurred by Garry Kasparov's call for a positive vision of the free society, Arnold Kling posted a list of the causes he is for. It seems like a good idea to reflect on these matters from time to time - perhaps especially at this time. Therefore - while recognizing both that I'm politically powerless and that my views have significance only for me - here I'll very briefly set out ten principles that I hold to be important in the political realm.

  1. Ethics. My ideal president is George Washington, a leader who had the highest principles of personal conduct along with an unwavering devotion to public service.
  2. Freedom. The American ideals espoused in the Declaration of Independence are eminently worth preserving, fighting for, and extending to more aspects of our society.
  3. Opportunity. Too many Americans have precious little opportunity to advance in life because of horrendous schools, unsafe neighborhoods, welfare programs that actively discourage moving up into the middle class, etc. We pay lip service to addressing these problems, but to our shame we haven't made real progress.
  4. Flourishing. A flourishing society requires flourishing individuals, families, and communities - in other words, prioritizing the general welfare, not demagogues, oligarchs, and special interests.
  5. Moderation. Aristotle said that law is reason codified, and that those who rule must be servants and protectors of the laws. This requires not only the ability to reason well about the common good, but a dedication to being reasonable.
  6. Effective governance. Our system of government has become ineffective at all levels, but especially at the federal level. Governments are trying to do too many things - and doing a poor job on most of them. We could use a lot more of Adam Smith's "peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice".
  7. Federalism and localism. To be effective, governance should happen much closer to the people. All functions except those explicitly ceded to the federal government in the Constitution should be performed by states, cities, towns, counties, neighborhoods, and voluntary associations of all kinds.
  8. Pluralism. From the very beginning, America has contained many different regions, ethnicities, religions, ideologies, and cultures. Like a jazz big band, these different "sections" come together to make beautiful but sometimes cacophonous music. Let's cherish and nurture it.
  9. Brotherhood. We Americans are all in this together; despite our differences, we should have a common regard for each other and a common commitment to the never-ending mission of realizing our American ideals in practice.
  10. A free world. It's a legacy of our revolution that America has always been a beacon of freedom; we should live up to that promise by working with our friends and allies around the globe and by welcoming law-abiding, freedom-loving people from all over the world to join the American project.

At least that's how I see things now...

(Cross-posted at Beautiful Wisdom.)

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