Questions for Modern Political Life

If a Marxist calls you a fascist, should you care, let alone worry yourself about disproving the charge? (Likewise, for that matter, if an authoritarian populist or corporatist oligarch calls you a Marxist.)

If someone criticizes your honest opinion on the grounds that it undermines “the movement,” is it more reasonable to defend your actions against that criticism, or to ask why the critic assumes that protecting “the movement” ought to have been your concern in the first place?

If the government could institute programs to eliminate all the normal hardships of human life — governments cannot in fact do this, but if they could — would such programs be desirable?

The hierarchy of virtue.– Is man’s moral nature more essentially defined by wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice (the classical “cardinal virtues”), or by sensitivity, compassion, selflessness, and charity? Your answer to this question, whether it be determined by emotional conditioning or by reasoning, will inform your vision of what the state should be — perhaps subtly at first, but inexorably.

Should a society’s institutions be configured to encourage the development of citizens who act morally, or to advance the goal of realizing moral outcomes regardless of the intention or character of the citizens?

Can any person who willingly seeks political office ever be trusted with political power — yes or no? (Logic allows no third option.)