Hacker News Reader

Comment by jes | Hacker News Reader

With respect, I wonder if pragmatists are really what we want. A pragmatist is someone who, as you say, seeks to compromise on principles in order to achieve some outcome. I want politicians who will refuse to compromise on principles, and I want those principles to be about protecting the rights of the individual.

Just my two cents. Thanks for an interesting comment.

View on HN

> I want those principles to be about protecting the rights of the individual.

Seems like a concept that most Americans can get behind, but the rubber doesn't meet the road until you ask which rights of which individuals need protecting.

Is abortion law about the rights of the mother or the rights of the fetus? Is campaign finance law about the rights of the rich person or the poor person? Is business regulation about the rights of the employer or the employee? Etc.

Different people will answer these questions in different ways, so if everyone just sticks to their principles, nothing will ever change or get done.

I think it depends on the issue. When it comes to something like abortion or the death penalty I would rather see a politician hold their ground and never compromise on it. If it is about spending some money on health insurance then it should be compromised on.

I wonder even about the seemingly simple case you mention, that of spending some money on health insurance.

In this case, it seems like the principle has already been compromised, and now the two parties are simply haggling over the price, so to speak. The principle that I think has been compromised is whether the government should take by force from some individuals in order to give an unearned benefit to some others.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com