Virtue

John Adams

What is required to be a good citizen of a republic?  This was a question posed by our founders during the formative years of the American Republic.  They were attempting to determine the best form of government in a world outside the British Constitution - one that not only guaranteed individual freedom, but also protected minorities from the abuses of the majority.  In contrast to the current mantra of "I have my rights," the Founders put a high premium on responsibilities as well.  John Adams stated, "Liberty can no more exist without virtue than the body can live and move without a soul."  In a era dominated by siloism ("Siloism" is the maximization of one set of goals to the detriment of a wider common good), political party rancor, and the cult of individualism; what do we make of the significance today of virtue and its role in government?  What happens if our nation has differing concepts of virtue?  Does this impact the nature and actions of our government?  Do Americans still have the responsibility of being virtuous in a modern republican government?

What is virtue and how can we define it?  Virtue can be defined as moral excellence.  A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and moral being.  Perhaps we should also clarify that civic virtue (which the Founders found so important) differs from that of individual virtue in that it deals with the whole of society. Civic virtue is the cultivation of habits important to the success of the community.  Closely linked to the concept of citizenship, civic virtue is often conceived as the dedication of citizens to the common welfare of the their community even at the costs of their individual interests. It should be noted, that the Founders believed one informed another and civic virtue could not exist in the absence of the individual form.

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.  As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters," declared Benjamin Franklin.  Can this eighteenth century quote help explain why American citizens have come increasingly under the dominion of a powerful central government.  Has our loss of virtue led us down a path where our "masters" have come to dominate most aspects of our lives?  Has our understanding of virtue changed from that our of predecessors to the point which they would be aghast at what America has wrought?  What do these questions mean for citizens, politicians, and educators?  In the posts that follow, I will attempt to determine to a greater extent what importance our founders attached to virtue and what it means for us as a republic today.