To legislate is to choose, and choices are made for the sake of values. But what values should, and which values do, guide our legislators? And why? Does the majority always rule? What attention must be paid to deeply held religious values? Or deeply held secular values? Ken and John discuss these issues with Representative Anna Eschoo (D-Cal).
How should we decide what laws to pass? Should majority rule, even when they are legislating values? Ken thinks this results in tyranny. What kinds of values are there? There are values that are essential to democracy, e.g. education. Ken introduces the guest, Anna Eshoo, congresswoman of the 14th district of California. Are we in a culture war? What are the casualties like in a culture war? Is the current political climate different than it historically has been? John points out that certain issues have always been contested, such as abortion.
What happens when the legislature does not act to support values it should? The Warren court ordering desegregation of the schools was not legislated but it was certainly a social good. Should we follows Rawls's principle that only reasons acceptable to any reasonable person should be admitted when the government is involved? Eshoo thinks that Rawls's principle is divorced from the way democracy actually works and so is not applicable. Do we need to distinguish between public and private spheres of values to allow the maximum number of citizens to be engaged politically? Is liberty or democracy a more fundamental American value? Eshoo thinks you can't let one take precedence over the other. Both minority and majority desires are important.
罗尔斯认为存在一种重叠的共识，一组每个人都能同意的事情。立法可以由此开始。肯认为这是一个有问题的想法。为什么人们要同意放弃基本信仰，以便彼此接触?谁对社会的分裂负责?肯认为政治阶层利用这些差异达到破坏性的目的。人们应该把他们的价值观投给损害他们经济地位的人吗?我们怎么能不用我们的价值观投票呢?
