The lectures are published under the banner of Economic Directions. The Government and Political Education Series Directed by Dr. Bradley C.S. Watson, the Center's Fellow in Politics and Policy, the Government and Political Education Program is dedicated to the restoration of America's constitutional order. This order is founded upon the principles of the Declaration of Independence, which professes a fixed understanding of human nature and, consequently, a limited role for the federal government. State and local governments ought to bear most of the responsibility for domestic public policy. As Alexis de Tocqueville suggests in Democracy in America, the surest way to avoid the enervating effects of administrative centralization is to invigorate state and local government and to encourage private initiative and sound personal character.
Responsible citizenship is an indispensable support for free politics and a free political economy.
The lectures from this series are published under the banner of Policy Visions. Civitas Forum on Principles and Policies for Public Life. Civitas Forum is directed by Dr. Bradley C.S. Watson, the Center's Fellow in Politics and Policy. As suggested by its name, this program is concerned with the realm of citizenship and the common good. The Forum seeks to identify and expound upon the principles of a free and well-ordered society in the American and Western tradition and to examine contemporary issues in relation to such principles.