Take It Back
July 25, 2022 (Draft)Americans are anxious. Government is unresponsive and wasteful. Politicians point fingers instead of fixing what’s broken. Extremists and self-interested interest groups dominate public debate. The open field of freedom is a minefield.
American government is long overdue for a spring cleaning. The accumulated red tape and legalisms cannot be relieved merely by changing leaders. Government needs a major overhaul—not to get rid of essential public programs and oversight, but to make them work sensibly.
The goal of government is to serve the common good. The guiding principle for rebooting democracy should be this: Restore everyone’s freedom to do what they think is right and sensible. Let others exercise their freedom to hold them accountable. Today’s legalistic focus barely disguises the self-interest that has infected democracy:
i. Every public dollar involves a moral choice. A dollar wasted is not available for some other public good. Government today is a massive engine of waste, lumbering along at perhaps half speed. “Spring cleaning commissions” should be appointed to recommend streamlined structures in healthcare, schools, infrastructure, civil service, and other areas burdened by legacy bureaucracies.
ii. Freedom means freedom for everyone, not particular groups. Giving disadvantaged groups a hand up is an important role for government. Restricting the freedom of others, on the other hand, is a formula for polarization and social strife. The people who run institutions must be free to set and enforce institutional values. Otherwise everyone’s freedom is subordinated to the vocal minority.
iii. Public choices should be tethered to core moral precepts such as reciprocity (“Do unto others…”) and stewardship for the future. Democracy must not be perceived as going to the highest bidder, and requires changes in election rules and financing. Climate change should not merely be a debate over scientific evidence, but also over our moral responsibility to future generations.
American democracy has lost its keel. What’s missing is a vision of public purpose and clear lines of authority and accountability needed to get there. Politics as usual cannot rescue us because thousands of interest groups operate only for narrow self-interest, and collectively prevent getting to a better place.
America requires a new political movement. Its goal is to serve the common good, not particular interests. Its core operating principle is to re-empower Americans to do what’s right and sensible. Does America today seem out of control? That’s the reality at every level of society—in schools, hospitals, and government itself. It’s time to take back control.