A public process for testing beliefs against reality.

I believe that the life and property of the individual are inviolable. A benevolent society cannot be built on harming people or seizing what they have honestly earned without just cause.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Without security in person and property, cooperation gives way to fear and predation.
• Every durable social contract assumes that innocent people are not legitimate targets of violence or theft.
• Sample: Fraser Institute Area 2 scores show countries with stronger legal systems and property rights consistently rank higher on economic freedom and income.

What could disprove it

Show that a stable, benevolent society can be sustained while routinely violating innocent life or property.

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I believe that consent is the moral basis of legitimate interaction. Unity built on force is domination, not cooperation.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Voluntary agreements align incentives and reduce resentment.
• Coerced participation corrupts both the coerced and the coercer.
• Sample: Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom documented hundreds of cases where communities self-govern resources through agreed rules rather than top-down force.

What could disprove it

Show that widespread coercion produces more trust, prosperity, and moral integrity than widespread consent.

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I believe that truth matters more than comfort. A benevolent society must prefer painful honesty over soothing falsehood.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Policies built on pleasant lies eventually harm the people they claim to help.
• Trust collapses when leaders and institutions prioritize image over reality.
• Sample: Edelman Trust Barometer repeatedly finds that dishonesty and lack of transparency are top drivers of institutional distrust worldwide.

What could disprove it

Show that societies which suppress uncomfortable truths reliably become more benevolent and unified over time.

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I believe that law should apply equally to rulers and ruled. Without equal justice, unity becomes obedience to privilege.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Selective enforcement breeds cynicism and rebellion.
• Equal treatment under law is the minimum condition for public trust.
• Sample: World Justice Project Rule of Law Index ranks 142+ countries — unequal application of law correlates with lower order and security scores.

What could disprove it

Show that societies with privileged legal classes remain more peaceful and just than those with equal application of law.

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I believe that power should be limited, divided, and accountable. Concentrated power attracts corruption; benevolence requires checks.

Confidence

High

Current support

• History shows unchecked power tends toward abuse, even when begun with good intentions.
• Separation of powers reduces the cost of any single actor's failure or malice.
• Sample: North vs South Korea — same culture and geography, divergent institutions after 1953; GDP per capita gap exceeds 20:1 (World Bank data).

What could disprove it

Show that highly concentrated, minimally accountable power consistently produces better outcomes for ordinary people than limited power.

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I believe that peaceful resolution should be preferred over violence. Force may sometimes be necessary in defense, but it is never a substitute for reason.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Violence escalates cycles of retaliation and trauma.
• Durable agreements require parties to remain alive and willing to coexist.
• Sample: Uppsala Conflict Data Program records thousands of battle deaths annually — societies that institutionalize negotiation reduce recurring violence.

What could disprove it

Show that societies which routinely choose violence over deliberation become more unified and benevolent.

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I believe that voluntary exchange creates mutual benefit. Trade is cooperation, not exploitation, when both parties consent and information is honest.

Confidence

High

Current support

• People trade when they expect to be better off, not worse off.
• Prosperity grows when individuals can specialize and exchange freely.
• Sample: WTO reports that trade-open economies grew faster on average over recent decades than highly closed economies.

What could disprove it

Show that banning or heavily restricting voluntary exchange improves welfare more than allowing it under honest rules.

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I believe that charity is virtuous, but coercion in the name of charity is not. Benevolence must be chosen, or it ceases to be moral.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Moral credit requires a free choice to help.
• Forced 'generosity' often breeds resentment and dependency without dignity.
• Sample: U.S. charitable giving exceeded $500 billion annually in recent years (Giving USA) — chosen aid distinct from tax-funded transfer.

What could disprove it

Show that coerced redistribution produces stronger character, gratitude, and social trust than voluntary charity.

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I believe that the right to speak, question, and dissent is essential to social health. A society that punishes honest challenge cannot stay truthful or unified for long.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Error is corrected only when it can be named aloud.
• Suppressed speech does not disappear; it festers and returns as extremism.
• Sample: Freedom House Freedom in the World index ties expression rights to broader political rights scores across 210 countries.

What could disprove it

Show that suppressing dissent produces more accurate institutions and stronger long-term unity than protecting it.

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I believe that human beings have inherent worth beyond utility. A benevolent society treats people as sacred, not disposable.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Reducing persons to their economic or political usefulness justifies cruelty.
• Dignity is the foundation of both rights and compassion.
• Sample: UDHR Article 1 — dignity and equal rights are declared inherent, not granted by utility to the state.

What could disprove it

Show that treating human worth as purely instrumental produces a more benevolent and stable society.

View belief and submit a challenge · 3 resources →