Government

With a nod to P.J. O'Rourke:

If people strive to be both good and happy, then all a government needs to do is:

• Protect individual property rights
• Apply laws equally to all
• Allow all citizens an equal vote
• Provide a method for all citizens, and particularly children, to obtain a good education
• Allow a free press

Governments that do not provide the above are barriers to the advancement of civilization.

The majority of people, each for their own reason, desire to be good and happy. The definition of happiness is pretty much universal, but the definition of good is and has always been somewhat variable. In the end, we will only be able to have one set of values defined as good. The advancement of civilization (and ethics) is the search for the universal definition of good.

There is no universal good, although there are two candidates:

• The Golden Rule (which, to some extent, exists in almost all cultures): Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Of course, this can be perverted as in the following sentence: "If I were an infidel, I would want the true believers to cut off my head."
• Live your life as if you would deserve to be happy. Again, this is circuitous, suffering from the same shortcoming as the golden rule.

I will go with DaughterBrain who wrote as a 3rd grader: "Enjoy life. There is nothing else quite like it."