Whether a basketball player on the court or a writer in front of his computer, the real “payoff” for our preparation comes when the ball, or the words, seem to move of their own accord toward their proper end.

The Nature of Human Happiness

by Bruce Frohnen

In Pursuit: Of Happiness and Good Government by Charles Murray

Throughout his long and highly productive career, Charles Murray has done the seemingly impossible. He has melded his strong libertarianism with respect for, and insights from, the work of Robert Nisbet and Russell Kirk. He has trained as a social scientist, worked for the Peace Corps, and written about the dangers of government intervention. He has fearlessly laid out arguments and data about intrinsic inequalities in an attempt to make social policy more truly compassionate and social structures more truly supportive of people with fewer life chances than the elites who make that policy. Most important, he has mastered social science data while concerning himself fundamentally with the nature of the human person. This, his deepest and most important if not his most appreciated work, encapsulates Murray’s essential viewpoint by setting forth the philosophical goals and implications of social science.

The problems with our burgeoning social democracy are deep and widespread. They have their roots in a false vision of reality and end up stunting the lives of millions. Yet those who question prevailing prejudices must constantly face charges of being “uncaring” apologists for the rich and powerful. This sad irony is made real by the power of bad ideas. How so? The social engineers who run and support our welfare and administrative state present themselves as great optimists, who recognize the limitless possibilities of individuals, if only the government would enable them to pursue their dreams. The old, traditional, vision of society, they tell us, saw people as mere objects, condemned by their limited intelligence, and social and economic status, to lives with little meaning or purpose. With the help of a government committed to fairness, however, we as a nation can transcend the limits imposed by history, transforming society and even ourselves into whatever we truly want to be.

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