Script: Prelude to the Declaration of Independence: Liberty, Equality, and Justice

Before we begin our exploration of the Declaration of Independence, let’s explore two essential values discussed in the Declaration: liberty and equality.

On the one-hand, the title of the document, the Declaration of INDEPENDENCE clearly points to liberty or independence. On the other-hand, Jefferson’s phrase, “all men are created equal” is a statement about equality. And the term, "equal" refers specifically to having access to equal rights. 

So both values are central to the Declaration.

And, indirectly, these two ideas suggest a third value, justice.

We want to pause and recognize that the Declaration of Independence, the document which signaled the birth of the United States of American, incorporates the three values that are considered to be the foundation of our society; justice, liberty, and equal rights or equality.

Let’s dig in…

Can one have too little liberty? Obviously this is true, but can one have too much liberty? This is also true.

As we will learn throughout the course, our American model of self-governance works best when individuals chose, as free women or free men, to willingly curtail their behavior, or liberty, in order to respect the rights of others. 

For example, my idea of freedom might be driving my semi-truck through rush hour traffic at 120 miles-per-hour. This expression of individual liberty is obviously a threat to the rights of others: in this case their right to life. Thus, justice curtails or limits liberty.

Can one have too little equality? Once again, this is obviously true. When someone is unable to exercise or use their rights, when their rights are denied to them, this person has too little equality.

But can one have too much equality? For example, suppose I work very hard but others do not. Is it fair to take from me, someone working very hard, and give it to someone who is capable of supporting themselves but does not? (Obviously, this is an argument of degrees since, according to the social contract, we all know how important it is to pay our share of taxes in order to support good roads, public education, military defense, and necessary services such as fire and police protection.)

Clearly it’s not fair to over-burden me with the needs of others, and, as history has shown again and again, in societies that pursue an extreme version of this sort of taxation, eventually I will work less hard since I am unable to enjoy the benefits of my labor. 

Once again, a sense of justice or fairness will limit equality.

Now, here’s a trick question. As we just saw, one can have too much, or too little liberty and equality. But, can one have too much, or too little justice? American philosopher Mortimer Adler argues that justice is binary value. You can either have justice or injustice but there are not shades or degrees of justice.

In her book, Our Declaration, Dr. Danielle Allen writes,

“Political equality is not, however, merely freedom from domination. The best way to avoid being dominated is to help build the world, in which one lives – to help, like an architect…Ideally, if political equality exists, citizens become co-creators of their shared world.”

Simply, Allen helps us understand how each of us can help assure that all of us live in a "good" society. 

To recap, we want to recognize how the values that embody our ideals of a good society, justice, liberty, and equality, or equal rights, are all seen in this important founding document.