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from NewsLink, Vol. 3, No. 2, Winter 1999
In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith described what he called the man of system. The man of system, he said, is “often so enamoured of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the slightest deviation from any part of it … He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of society with as much ease as the hand arranges different pieces on a chessboard.”
The right to free speech and to bear arms are roughly parallel. Both are guaranteed under the Constitution, and the law protects innocent persons from the abuse of either. Implicit in the Constitution is a presumption in favor of freedom. The Constitution sets the bar high for anyone who would, through the legislative or judicial process, curtail anyone else’s freedom of speech.
Now we face questions about how to weigh the right to bear arms against the “ideal plan of government.” Witness a federal court verdict holding U.S. handgun makers responsible for deaths and injuries suffered as a result of crimes committed using handguns.
A recent Boston Globe opinion editorial supports this verdict. The author writes that, whereas U.S. gun manufacturing generates $2 to $3 billion a year in revenue, the “costs to society” in terms of medical care, police services and the like are as much as $33 billion per year. Thus viewed, “you have an argument stronger than ever before that handguns have no place in the hands of civilians.”
The problem with such reasoning is that it undervalues freedom. Free societies are often messy. We don’t always like what happens in them. But this inherent lack of predetermined order – messiness, if you will – is the price we pay for freedom. Should we nod away any of the rights and freedoms the Constitution gives us as Americans? I, for one, don’t want to be a pawn on someone else’s chessboard.
1999: More of the Same?
In December BHI hosted a forum, Sizzle of Fizzle: The Massachusetts Economic Outlook for 1999. In this issue of Newslink, we bring you the highlights of the forum. We also conducted a survey of BHI friends for their thoughts on the coming year. We wanted to know how these taxpayers felt about the strength of the economy in 1999. We also wanted to know their thoughts on key public policy issues, some of which are subjects of BHI’s current research and others of which are under consideration for study by BHI. The complete forum transcript is on our website (www.beaconhill.org) and we will post the tabulation results of all survey questions shortly. For all of you who responded to our survey request, a hearty thanks.
How STAMP became a (Lone) Star
At the request of Texas Public Policy Foundation in San Antonio, BHI enhanced our State Tax Analysis Modeling Program (STAMP) for Texas. Texas STAMP allows TPPF to simulate tax proposals in that state for their effects on the economy. Already, STAMP has helped show how several proposals could generate more than 50,000 new jobs in that state.
Thorny Stearns: A good friend
Finally, when Thornton Stearns died, BHI lost a good friend and advisor. Our thoughts are with his wife, Phyllis, and his family.
NewsLink is the quarterly newsletter of the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research at Suffolk University. © 1996-2003. All rights reserved.
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