Moral Principles
Federalist Paper # 31 [paragraph 3]*
"3 ...Moral and political principles are not as objective as those of mathematics. But they are more objective than we might think. The obscurity usually exists in the passions and prejudices of the reasoner, not in the subject. Too often, men do not use their common sense. They yield to a bias and they entangle themselves in words and subtleties."
As the structure of the United States government was being discussed, some people wanted a plural executive--two or more people with equal authority--instead of the single executive that we have: the president. The arguments against a plural executive are compelling. Yet, in many respects, the executive branch of the federal government has evolved into a plural executive. This is particularly apparent when trying to find who is responsible for actions taken by the executive.
Federalist Paper # 70 [paragraph 15]*
"15
But one of the strongest objections to both types of plural executive is that it tends to conceal faults and destroy responsibility."There are two types of responsibility: moral and legal. Irresponsibility leads to censure and to punishment. Censure is the more important, especially in an elective office. An irresponsible man in public office will more often act in a way that makes him unworthy of trust than in a way that makes him subject to legal punishment.
"But when more than one person holds the position of Executive, it is difficult to figure out who is morally or legally responsible. The people in the executive will accuse each other. It often becomes impossible to determine who to blame or punish for a harmful act. Blame is shifted from one to another with so much dexterity that the public doesn’t know who made the decision.
"The circumstances leading to any national misfortune can be extremely complicated. We could clearly see that there has been mismanagement. But if several people were involved in making the decision, it may be impossible to say who is truly responsible for the evil."
*quotes from The Federalist Papers: Modern English Edition Two, copyright 2008 by Mary E Webster
We Will Never Forget, 9/12/2001
Mary E Webster
The Federalist Papers: Modern English Edition Two is available on my website.