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“In an ideal society, if such a thing were possible, engaged citizens would collectively reach important decisions in good faith by taking into consideration ideas from political theory, a discipline that lies between political science and philosophy and that for millennia has been contemplating the purpose of government. They would look to history for lessons learned and to moral philosophy to articulate the ethical dimensions of the question. Teachings from economics, sociology and psychology would help leaders anticipate the impact of various outcomes on both the social fabric as a whole and the individual members of society. Yet even in this ideal society, it is highly likely that there would be no single accord reached because of the great variety of human experience and the tremendous plasticity of the human mind. We do not all see the world the same way, but it is incumbent on each of us to approach challenging issues that affect us all with as many intellectual tools — in addition to raw information — as we can assemble. As Woodrow Wilson put it more than a century ago, “There is no profit in information unless you know what to do with it, unless your mind has a certain scope and mastery.”
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