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 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 communities thrive when people take responsibility, not only demand rights. Rights without responsibility produce resentment and fracture.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Sustainable freedom requires citizens who restrain themselves and contribute.
• Cultures that emphasize only entitlement tend toward conflict and dependency.
• Sample: Tocqueville (1835) observed American voluntary associations as the school of self-governance alongside formal rights.

What could disprove it

Show that societies emphasizing rights without personal responsibility become more unified and benevolent.

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I believe that families and local communities are the first layer of social care. Strong small bonds make large-scale unity possible without tyranny.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Most care is delivered locally, not by distant bureaucracies.
• Healthy families and neighborhoods reduce demand for coercive state intervention.
• Sample: Putnam's Bowling Alone documents declining U.S. civic association membership from peak mid-20th century — correlates with trust erosion.

What could disprove it

Show that weakening family and local community produces stronger benevolence and social trust than strengthening them.

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I believe that institutions should earn trust through transparency, not demand it through authority. Unity cannot be commanded; it must be justified.

Confidence

High

Current support

• Opaque institutions breed conspiracy and cynicism.
• Transparency allows errors to be corrected before they become catastrophes.
• Sample: Pew Research — U.S. public trust in government fell from ~75% (1958) to ~20% (recent years), tracking perceived honesty and performance.

What could disprove it

Show that secretive, unaccountable institutions maintain higher public trust than transparent ones.

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