Well-designed laws, courts, catechisms, extrinsic motives, social approval, and even a few good and decent people are of no avail if too many people do not behave like self-respecting and other-respecting adults. Childish pride and envy, grabbing more of the sweets, Donald Trump-style, do not make for a good society.
WASHINGTON, DC—We should have learned by now that good politics depends not so much on good institutions as on the moral sentiments supporting them. If bad or unwise people take over your country by coup or by vote, you can’t rely on your institutions to save you. “Add institutions and stir” has never been a consistent recipe for success; good and wise people are.
