Values
Principles of Reason and the Hierarchy of values. “Do good; avoid evil.”
Hierarchy of Values.
Like personal moral values, political issues often implicate moral values which can be ranked in categories of moral goodness and certainty. In examining political questions, the moral aspects can be considered in terms of the object (the thing to be done), the circumstances and the purpose or subjective end.
Goods can be ranked by gravity and certainty. Where negative aspects result from a given act, the act must be necessary and the negative aspects, if grave, must be both unavoidable and of lesser harm. One cannot do an overall evil for the sake of accomplishing a lesser good.
Although such priority is first a matter of the objective moral implications, where the whole community is acting, individuals can allocate their time as matter of personal focus and prudence. You can focus on poverty and racism, so long as sufficient others are focused on abortion and euthanasia.
Structure vs. Content.
Politics comes from “polis” meaning “city”, particularly a city as a governed body. “City” comes from Latin “civis,” meaning people of a town or citizens. Polity is living in common government. Civic friendship is living in community. Because political action is the act of influencing government, issues may be addressed from the point of view of
- the proper structure and role of government; and
- what concrete actions should be taken to address a particular issue.
These two categories are distinct and the differences are the cause of great conflict in society. Solidarity might guide us to recognize a need, but subsidiarity guides us to the best solution.
To give a clarifying example, some families may suffer from abject poverty and not be able to get medical care for an injured child. Possible solutions by government might be:
- Do nothing and let private citizens make provision for themselves and each other.
- Open numerous emergency care clinics in each city.
- Create and distribute “vouchers” to use at their local private hospital.
- Pass laws that provide tax credits for any care a taxpayer offers to the poor.
- Compel private hospitals to provide free care to injured people.
- Offer compensation or other incentives to all persons who aid the poor.
Each of these actions involves structural decisions and content decisions, that is, who will handle the problem and how it will be handled. If government were confined to its proper role, several of these possibilities would not be at issue and the prudence of the others would be more clear.
Principles of political theory, civics and economics suggest best practices for the activities of government, especially the principle of subsidiarity which recognizes that it is the community, not the government, that creates the common good. The government “governs,” that is, removes the obstacles to the common good. Were the government confines itself to its proper role and structure, the people address the content aspects of particular needs and issues.
Emergencies sometimes result from lack of forethought, other times from lack of due care. Many bills in the Kentucky legislature today begin with a provision “declaring an emergency.”
POLITICAL CONSCIENCE GUIDES:
A good discussion of grave issues:
Catholic Answers forum discussion of “non-negotiables”.
