Principles are the third stage of social consciousness, the first being commandments, and the second being virtue. Principles derive from experimentation and reason and, thereby transcend, but generally do not negate the commands and virtues that allowed society to evolve to that point.
For example, “thou shalt not steal” is not negated simply because a society or a group has not devised empirical tests to provide a rational defense of this command. However, rationalists who promote rationalism with religious fervor, often try to discard everything from the inherited culture. The French Revolution is the classic example of attempting to, as Ken Wilber frequently says, “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Human behavior is 95% non-rational, and is formed in stages that include following rules and emulating role models. Nevertheless, principles derived reason can place important checks on arbitrary rules and behavior that may appear good in a limited context but not be universally valid.
Principles provide a framework in which individuals of a plurality of cultural backgrounds can find common ground. The United States Constitution provides for the regulation of government through the consistent application of several principles with the intention to provide freedom for individuals to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. These principles do not nullify the religious life of Americans, but, as John Adams and other founders argued, “the constitution is only suited for a moral people.
There is a collision that occurs when individuals at one stage attempt to oppose individuals at another stage of social consciousness. The strife between religious fundamentalists and rationalists reflects the trauma involved when the evolution from the traditional phase to the rational phase is not smooth.
When I say that the conservative lacks principles, I do not mean to suggest that he lacks moral conviction. The typical conservative is indeed usually a man of very strong moral convictions. What I mean is that he has no political principles which enable him to work with people whose moral values differ from his own in which both can obey their convictions. It is the recognition of such principles that permits the coexistence of different sets of values that makes it possible to build a peaceful society with a minimum of force.
—F.A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (1959), pp. 401-402.
Three Spheres of Society:
- Government: Basic Principle is Force
- Economy: Basic Principle is Market
- Culture: Basic Principle is Love
Principles of Governance:
Five basic principles of good governance apply to all social institutions. These are discussed in detail in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, Version 4.0.
- Protection
- Subsidiarity
- Separation of Function
- Transparency
- The Right to Secede
All pending legislation can be checked against these five principles to determine whether it is the introduction of a “worm.” This check is analogous to what anti-virus software does to check for computer worms.
Economic Principles:
- Protection of Private Property
- Right to the Fruits of One’s Labor
- Planning for Competition
- Taxes that do not play favorites
- Regulation based on science rather than fear or cronyism
Cultural Principles:
- Treat others as an ends in themselves, not as merely a means to another’s ends.
- Do Unto Others as You would have them Do Unto You.
- All people grow through stages, and need care in some stages and are caretakers in others.
- Balance, or “the middle path.”
- There is a higher power in the universe than human-made institutions.