Pragmatism is not a Philosophy

It has been fascinating to me recently to watch politicians as well as the public react to what seems to me to be a flurry of issues facing our country.  And I have noticed that although at times people have landed in fairly predictable stands on the issues, in other cases there have been some rather startling divisions.

As you may have noticed there is developing a pretty large dividing line in the Republican Party.  It started with the debate over Immigration Reform, and continued with the NSA program and just this past week things got a little uglier with the remarks by Governor Chris Christie regarding his concern with the “libertarian streak” he sees developing in the United States.  Senator Rand Paul took exception to the remarks and spoke his mind about Governor Christie.

It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows, and to me none stranger than Diane Feinstein and John McCain agreeing on the need for the NSA program.  I have noted with some sadness the ferocity with which some Republicans have disowned members of their own party, namely Marco Rubio, for trying to pursue a comprehensive immigration policy.  It is one thing to fight and to disagree; it is another thing to disown.  And yet, in some ways it is time for this schism to become public.  The differences between the Tea Party wing of the party and the McCain/Graham wing of the party are stark. 

I would like to take a quick look at what drives people to believe the way they do on any given issue, what the motivations are, and then present my personal views on having a coherent philosophy. 

So what, besides philosophy, motivates people to take positions on various subjects? 

Politics

Sometimes politics means you are running or planning to run for office, and you may need to triangulate or position yourself in order to defeat a likely opponent. 

Sometimes politics means you are in government and need to get votes in the House or Senate on a particular bill, and you need to get people on board, or you are scratching someone’s back so they will scratch yours.  Sometimes party leaders will pressure you to vote their way or you will never get a chairmanship or be on a committee

Sometimes politics means that as a citizen but you see your values slipping away because the “other side” is taking over and you just feel a need to stop them from getting too much power.  Often politics means simply that your parents raised you as a Democrat or Republican and it is difficult to go against the way you were raised.

Sometimes taking a certain position will make more voters of a certain group (Latinos) vote for their party in the next election. 

Money

Politicians have to raise cash to get elected or re-elected.  Donors provide cash and they have opinions about how you should vote.  Voting to fund specific programs makes certain people happy.

Sometimes you have a personal financial interest in the subject, (farmers support farm subsidies) and it has an effect on you personally.  This is true for politicians and voters.

Some people are worried about how to balance the budget or at least about how to allocate available funds, and sometimes it is a hard choice between competing interests.  Money is precious.

Public Opinion

It is very hard to fight against widely held public opinion, whether you are a politician or just an average citizen.  Politicians must listen to their constituents, and those voters have opinions.  It is really difficult to vote against a position that most of your constituents hold.

For a lot of voters who are less informed, public opinion matters a lot.  They want to believe and support what everyone else believes and supports.

Religion

Religious views color everything that happens in our society.  If your religion has a clear stand on an issue it is difficult as a politician to vote against what your religion teaches.  As a voter it is difficult to vote for someone who goes against your religious beliefs.

Philosophical Labels

Traditionally, philosophy when applied to government and society would have meant liberal versus conservative.  You may see yourself as liberal or conservative and so automatically oppose someone to whom you apply the opposite label.

I would argue that lately those labels have become less meaningful as there is a lot of line crossing going on between the two.

There are lots of other things that motivate people, this is just a partial list, but you get the idea.  What bothers me is when people borrow from one or another of the above, depending on the situation, and end up being completely inconsistent. 

Pragmatism is not a philosophy.  In addition to the above motivations, many times we get into the habit of simply seeing a problem, wanting to fix it, and coming up with a solution.  The solution may not fit perfectly into all of our parameters, but we excuse that with the notion that “something needs to be done”.  Often the solution is not well thought out, and leads to other problems.

A Philosophical Core

I advocate that each of us have a fundamental philosophical core from which we operate.  We should have a cohesive view of the world, so that we do not end up being a walking contradiction.  You do not have to have the same core philosophy as me, and I would not expect us all to agree.  But core values give a person consistency, and help you to see the world clearly.

It also helps each of us to understand where and why we have differences of opinions with others.  Often people fight about what the expected outcomes of a new law would be, rather than why they really have different core views on the subject.  Going back to the opening paragraph, it appears Governor Christie and Rand Paul disagree on core philosophy, which is fine.

And now a look at my own personal philosophy, which I try to apply consistently to each new issue as it arises.

·         Personal Liberty –A person should be free to do most anything that does not interfere with the rights of another person.  I do not have the right to demand that others conform to my sense of morality, and I do not have to conform to theirs.  The government should stay out of our personal lives. 

·         Personal Responsibility – Just as I am free to do as I please, I am responsible for the results of my actions.  Every adult is responsible for their own life.  People should be allowed to succeed or fail as the case may be.  Family, friends, churches, etc should help people achieve their goals but it is not the proper role of government to do so. 

·         Fiscal Responsibility – Regardless of how you feel about anything else, if we do not live within our means we will go bankrupt.  We cannot do everything and we must cut spending and increase revenues.  True for individuals and true for governments.

·         Failure and Success are both Options – The first three points lead naturally to this one.  If people are truly free then they are free to fail or succeed.  The same is true for businesses and governments.  Failure is not an ending but a starting over point.  Failure is how we learn.  When we succeed, that success belongs to us and we need not feel guilty about it.

·         States Rights – The federal government has too much power and too much control over our lives.  Power, money, and decision making must be transferred back to individual states and local governments.  Tyranny can occur at the federal level but not at the state level as people are free to move away to another state.

·         Children are the Future – Children are not capable of protecting themselves, and parents are responsible for their children.  Society has a role in making sure children are not abused and that as much as possible every child has an equal chance to succeed in our society.  Equality of opportunity begins with seeing that each child gets a fair chance at success.  Adults are free to choose their path and must take responsibility for their actions.  Children do not choose the circumstances they find themselves in.  They must be given opportunity to succeed.

·         Equality – People should not be put into groups based on things that are outside of their control.  For example, you had no control over your skin pigmentation, gender, or where you were born or who your parents were.  You had no control over how tall you are or whether you have the proper genetic material to be a professional athlete.  Or whether for that matter you are ugly or handsome.  This does not mean that you are not responsible for whether or not you do your homework, or practice your free throws.  We cannot guarantee equal outcomes.

·         Property Rights – Simply put, what you own is yours.  It belongs to you and not to anyone else and you may do with your property as you see fit.  It does not belong to any collective.

There is more to my personal core philosophy but this is enough to illustrate the point.  In my next piece I will use these ideas to evaluate the current issues before us today.