Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Virtue’s place in our politics

Virtue’s place in our politics
Getty Images

Kevin Frazier will join the Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University as an Assistant Professor starting this Fall. He currently is a clerk on the Montana Supreme Court.

A republican government rests on a critical assumption: that the public’s virtuous traits and, in particular, the virtues of elected officials will outweigh the “degree of depravity” in humankind. In other words, virtue is at the heart of a representative government--at least according to Federalist Paper No. 55.


The Founders did not shy away from discussing virtue and politics in the same breath. They assumed that the people would elect virtuous officials and, in the event that a dishonest, immoral, or corrupt official took office, political leaders in the Revolutionary Era developed checks to ease the removal of such officials. Pennsylvanians and Vermonters, for example, created Councils of Censors that assessed whether the legislative and executive branches of government performed their duty as guardians of the people. Violations of such duties could result in censure and impeachment.

At some point the public stopped assuming politicians possessed any more virtue than everyone else. People today perceive politics as a realm where mudslinging goes further than deliberating, where the perfectibility of humankind loses out to the possibility of greater power in the hands of fewer individuals, and where those most willing to sacrifice their morals will have the easiest time of getting ahead. Two-thirds of Americans say that the statement "most politicians are corrupt" describes the U.S. well, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center poll. The perception of corruption has had a corrosive effect on our democracy.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

The absence of virtue in the political arena is a major problem. The devolution of politics into a WWE wrestling match makes it easier for opponents of any law to question the intentions of the law’s proponents and, therefore, the legitimacy of the law and our system of government as a whole. Consider that the same 2020 Pew poll that revealed the public’s concerns with corruption also exposed the public’s increased willingness to drastically reform our system of government. More than two-thirds of Americans agreed that the U.S. political system required "major" changes and a sizable group—about a fifth—asserted that our political system should undergo a complete reformation.

Thankfully, the Council of Censors of the past provide the present with a model for how to provide a check on corrupt politicians. The Pennsylvania Council of Censors included 24 citizens who had been elected from districts around the state. Councilors served single, seven year terms. As mentioned, the Council could censure public officials and order impeachments, in addition to possessing the authority to recommend the repeal of legislation, and if required, call for a Constitutional convention.

A modern improvement of this Council would eliminate the election of Councilors and instead rely on a stratified random sample to select a representative body of the public to evaluate the behavior of their officials. Selection by a sort of lottery process would reduce the odds of partisan bias influencing Council decisions and provide the Council with more legitimacy on the basis of having a wide range of views and backgrounds on the Council. Whether a modern Council should have the same powers as those in Pennsylvania and Vermont is a question for another article. At a minimum, the Council should evaluate if elected officials veer too far from the public’s perception of virtue.

Opposition to morality mixing with governance is understandable. After all, who gets to choose which morals serve as the standard for assessing what qualifies as “good” political behavior? Some may understandably fear that a focus on refining the character of citizens and improving their virtue will open the door to undue influence by religious thinking. Others may argue that a focus on morals and virtue will further pull the country into culture wars that limit our ability to wage battle on more pressing fronts such as income inequality, climate change, and distrust in democratic institutions. This is another reason why a random sample of everyday citizens is the best approach - diverse Councilors would encapsulate the values and morals of the entire community.

Virtue has a place in our politics. Ethical leadership should not be hard to come by in D.C. nor in any state capitol. The modern adoption of Councils of Censors could revive an assumption of the past: that politics can and will bring out the best in our community.

Read More

Kamala Harris on stage

Kamala Harris has focused her campaign on freedom.

Sara Stathas for the Washington Post

Why trying to protect freedom may work better than campaigning to protect democracy

Williams is an assistant Professor of Political Science, Allegheny College. Bloeser is an associate professor of political science and director of Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College.

When Joe Biden was the Democrats’ candidate for president in 2020 and again in 2024, he staked his candidacy on being the person who would save democracy from the threat Donald Trump posed.

But Kamala Harris has shifted away from that message and toward the idea of protecting and advancing freedom. Freedom has become the theme of many Harris campaign ads and speeches. Her slogan “we are not going back” is meant to invoke concern about freedoms being taken away.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman with pink ribbon
Issarawat Tattong/Getty Images

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a model for blurred lines

Johnson is a United Methodist pastor, the author of "Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community" and program director for the Bridge Alliance, which houses The Fulcrum.

It is rare to find issues that bridge partisan lines and unite Americans across the ideological spectrum. Breast Cancer Awareness Month stands as a powerful exception.

Observed annually in October, BCAM has evolved from grassroots beginnings into a global movement, reshaping our understanding of breast cancer and, in the process, demonstrating the potential for collective action to address a shared health crisis. Almost every American citizen knows someone experiencing some form of cancer, particularly breast cancer. The BCAM model, I purport, offers valuable lessons in how to participate in our nation's social contract more faithfully in polarizing times.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eric Adams

New York Mayor Eric Adams is seen leaving Manhattan federal court on Sept. 27.

Andrea Renault/Star Max/GC Images)

Eric Adams is trying on Donald Trump’s playbook

Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.

It’s the go-to play nowadays.

If you’re a politician collared for alleged crimes, feign indignation, call it a “conspiracy,” blame the “corrupt” Department of Justice, and refuse to resign.

New York Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on five federal charges related to 2021 campaign contributions, wire fraud, and bribery. The scathing 57-page indictment was unsealed on Thursday, and according to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, Adams was “showered” with gifts from foreign entities — namely Turkey — that he knew were illegal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Close-up of boy looking at his phone in the dark
Anastasiia Sienotova/Getty Images

Reality bytes: Kids confuse the real world with the screen world

Patel is an executive producer/director, the creator of “ConnectEffect” and a Builders movement partner.

Doesn’t it feel like summer break just began? Yet here we are again. Fall’s arrival means kids have settled into a new school year with new teachers, new clothes and a new “attitude” for parents and kids alike, to start on the right foot.

Yet it’s hard for any of us to find footing in an increasingly polarized and isolated world. The entire nation is grappling with a rising tide of mental health concerns — including the continually increasing alienation and loneliness in children — and parents are struggling to foster real human connection for their kids in the real world. The battle to minimize screen time is certainly one approach. But in a world that is based on screens, apps and social media, is it a battle that realistically can be won?

Keep ReadingShow less

Meet the change leaders: Scott Klug

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

After a 14-year career as an Emmy-winning reporter, Scott Klug upset a 32-year Democratic House member from Wisconsin in 1990. Despite winning four elections with an average of 63 percent of the vote, he stayed true to his term limit pledge and retired in January 1999.

But during his time in office, Klug says, he had the third most independent voting record of any member of Congress from Wisconsin in the last 50 years.

Keep ReadingShow less