First Principles - Thomas E Ricks
5:57 PM
First Principles. I picked this up as I was curious to learn who inspired the founding framers of American independence and constitution. Who were the heroes of the first four presidents of the USA.
Here are my top takeaways and insights from this richly researched and well-balanced writing of Thomas Ricks.
Leap of Faith - There were debates that constitution should say 'We, the States' and not 'We, the people'. The journey from 'We the states' to 'We the People' must have required a tremendous leap of courage in thought and virtue to rise above personal ambitions towards collectivism, to repose faith in the People at a time when the rest of the world was run by monarchies, dynasties and aristocracies. There was no living example (France came close but shorty fell to Napoleon) of an alternate form of governance that framers of American Constitution could have looked at to get confidence in their decision making.
In this context, envisioning, debating, and believing this idea of a government for the people, of the people, and by the people must have frightened many. Prevailing wisdom of the time was that masses need to be ruled. They dared to take this gamble on people despite having very realistic fears that an army could topple the government, or a president might become autocratic any time.
Vices cut vices - The values around which the independence war was fought were Virtue and Liberty. Virtue and honor inspired the first four presidents of USA. However, they also realized very fast that virtue could only sustain human spirit so far and could not be a driver for a new country. Power and venality can corrupt people and ruin the system. They understood that factions, political and personal interests can trump common good and the rights of many, they also foresaw (I hope) that a person of no virtue could also get elected.
Instead of designing a perfect system or arguing over the shortcomings of human virtue, the framers of constitution acknowledged that a viable self-government should not require virtue as a base and should have self-correcting measures. The gridlock of checks and balances are a feature of the constitution. They understood that one voice should not shut other voices down. And the solution is to ensure that everyone should have a seat at the table.
Looking back in time for wisdom and character - I was surprised that founding fathers of America drew heavily from Greek and Roman literature (the first four presidents except George Washington who could not read Latin but still heavily influenced) on virtue, governance models, polity, philosophy and more. Some of the mechanizations of governance - consuls, judiciary, senate and various forms of governance were tried and tested in ancient times. The founding fathers found the political vocabulary, thought, and even pitfalls to avoid from their in-depth study of the writings of political and philosophical thinkers and the life accounts of historical figures.
It was also fascinating to learn the influence of Sottish and French thinkers and philosophers. It was said that Scottish taught the rest of the America except New England. Some of the obvious tenets of democracy - building systems and institutions that would sustain the rule of the law in the long-term, selection of the government by people and periodic need of reelection - were meditated upon by the great thinkers of ancient and enlightenment times (Marcus Aurelius, Buchannan, Montesquieu, Locke, Cato, Cicero to name a few).
What are American values; Are they evolving?
In the end it made me think what values truly American are and what are unamerican. Liberty, virtue, and honor dominated the writings of first two presidents and directed their actions during war and after. These values manifested in a constitution that kept its people at the center. Thomas Jefferson referred to happiness and freedom for all Americans as a goal for the new country.The definition of freedom, how it manifests, and how it has evolved can also be debated. The role of religion in American politics and society rose sharply after independence and Christianity became central to American life deeply affecting the moral and social fabric of American life and politics. Money has been a theme for th past few decades. One of the core values of the constitution is to maximize the wellness of its citizens and to serve the people of this nation.
Makes me wonder if the increasing fascination with money and growth at all costs, corporate lobbying affecting representation of matters that concern people, weakening negotiation power of wages over wealth, rising costs of good education (which IMO is the biggest ticket to freedom), and weakening shared understanding of our political rights are the desired manifestations of real American values.
For example, as Zephyr Teachout said that corporate campaign financing will be akin to political corruption to the framers of constitution. But then! Democracy is an ongoing effort, never perfect at any time and never fully achieved but as the author says despite its flaws. It’s worth it.