Polical Philosophy

Political Philosophy<= /w:sdtPr>

A political philosophy concerns the role of government in the affairs of its citizens. What political philosophy is consistent with the Statement of My Co= re Philosophical Beliefs? Because freedom and peace are so important to our material, physical and spiritual growth, the core tenant of my political philosophy is that the main purpose of government is to help to protect each individual’s right to live and grow in peace.

Because the political philosophy presented here contends that = the primary purpose of government is to keep the peace, many atheists and agnostics will find that they substantially agree with this political platform, even though they might disagree with some of my core philosophical beliefs.

In a country such as the United States, which properly operate= s by the rule of law, the manner in which government protects our rights is thro= ugh our laws. Hence, our laws should be centered upon the protection of the people’s right to live life as they see fit, as long as this is done = in peace.

Thus a good law is one which says that if a person is convicted of violating the life, liberty, or property of another, then a penalty may be imposed, w= hich penalty itself will remove either the life, liberty or property of the violator.

The most common such laws prohibit murder, theft, rape, assault, fraud, and coercion. In addition, since pollution can have a detrimental effect on a person’s life or property, laws that regulate harmful pollution in a rational way are also good laws.

Conversely, bad laws are those that prohibit a belief, or that prohibit any action or behavior that does not interfere with the right of others to their life, liberty or property. For example, the world’s great religions a= nd great civilizations all have prohibitions against such acts as adultery, homosexual sex, greed, and even gluttony. However, legislation making these illegal would be inappropriate, because these acts do not interfere with the rights of others.

Another way to look at this is to realize that if a person is convicted of violating a law, the penalty always entails that loss of life, liberty and/= or property. Hence, the only good laws are those penalize only those who viola= te the life, liberty and/or property of another.

Christ said that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. If each of us did this, the world would be immediately transformed. Yet, it is not the place of government to require us to obey t= hese commandments; the government ought not to legislate what beliefs we should follow, or even how we are to lead our lives, as long as our actions do not cause harm to another.

This political platform therefore contains only legislation that I believe = is in alignment with these criteria; it is not a list of all good things that = we should do, nor is it list of prohibitions of all the bad things we ought no= t to do. Rather, it only deals with proper legislation – legislation that prohibits a person or group of persons from causing harm to another.

Additionally, because the natural resources belong to the people as a whole, legislation with respect to our natural resources is also a responsibility = of government.

Jefferson said, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yie= ld and government to gain ground.” Therefore, I believe it important to limit the role of government so as to protect our liberties. In this vein, = the US Constitution specifically enumerates what may be legislated by Congress (called the ‘enumerated powers’). Furthermore, the 10th Amendme= nt stipulates that the powers not delegated to the Federal Government by the Constitution be reserved to the States or to the people. Accordingly, anoth= er criterion for being a good federal law is that the law can be justified und= er one of the enumerated powers. Furthermore, any current federal laws or prog= rams or expenditures that cannot be justified under one of the enumerated powers should be phased out. Alternatively, the Constitution could be amended to a= dd such a program to one of its enumerated powers.

The intention therefore, is to provide a political platform that protects e= ach person’s right to live in peace, as well as to prevent the encroachme= nt of government on those rights. To say this in a different way, we believe t= hat government serves us best when it protects all free markets – meaning those interactions that are voluntary and informed - free markets to trade goods and services; free markets of ideas, science, art, and music; free markets of religion, education, association, and friendship. Good government ought to protect all of these freedoms, and more.