Legislative Decision Making on Rational America

Never Legislate on Moral Vibes If You Want Laws That Reduce Real Suffering

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0400

There’s a moment in nearly every legislative career when the moral clarity starts to crack. You’ve got a bill in front of you, drafted in good faith, backed by advocates who keep citing “human dignity.” One side says the policy will save lives. The other says it will destroy families. Both are certain. Both are, as far as I can tell, running on pure intuition.

Watch a committee long enough and you notice a stranger pattern. The same lawmaker who demands zero tolerance, no exceptions, and “their choice, their consequences” in one hearing will turn around and beg for individualized mercy on behalf of a constituent caught in a technicality. Rules when they’re convenient. Consequences when they want to sound tough. Never the twain shall meet.

The Secret Of Utilitarian Ethics In Legislative Decision Making

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0400

The Secret Of Utilitarian Ethics In Legislative Decision Making

Campaign speeches are full of high-minded language about rights, duties, and the defense of timeless principles. But walk into any real committee hearing, roll up your sleeves, and what do you actually find? Arithmetic. Happiness arithmetic, to be precise.

Here’s the open secret of governing that almost no elected official will volunteer on the record: modern legislation is utilitarian to its bones. Not always by explicit intent. Not because anyone read Jeremy Bentham before drafting the latest infrastructure bill. But because utilitarianism is the only moral framework that can be converted into a spreadsheet. And legislatures, whatever they tell the voters, run on spreadsheets.