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Topic: Government

Definition: Beliefs about how public power is won, held, used and checked.

📁 Sub-topics

TopicBeliefs beneathWhat it covers
Democracy & Rule of Law5How elections, courts and the constitution keep power answerable, and how to strengthen them.
Elections2How voters choose officeholders, including who may vote, how ballots are cast and counted, and how campaigns are run.
Evidence & Process3How public decisions should be made: on evidence, with scorecards, and with a view to the wider world.
Government ethics5Rules and norms about how people who hold public power may use it, and who checks them.
Immigration5Who may come to the country, on what terms, and how the rules are enforced.
Law2How laws are enforced and judged, including policing, courts, bail, and punishment.
Military5How a country raises, funds, and uses its armed forces, and who decides when they fight.
Rights & Liberty4The freedoms the law protects and the responsibilities that come with them.
Taxes4How government raises money from people and businesses, including who pays, how much, and on what.

📋 Beliefs filed beneath this topic

UnderBeliefTruthBelief score
Public office and private gainLetting Congress overturn a presidential pardon by a two-thirds vote of both chambers would reduce the use of the pardon power for private gain.0.50+0.39
Public office and private gainBarring members of Congress and the president from owning or trading individual stocks would reduce the use of public office for private gain.0.50+0.32
Public office and private gainBarring the president and members of Congress from giving any official government function to a family member would reduce the use of public office for private gain.0.50+0.00
Public office and private gainRequiring the president and members of Congress to publish their tax returns would reduce the use of public office for private gain.0.50+0.00
Public office and private gainPublic office should not be usable for private gain.0.50+0.00
Democracy & Rule of LawWe should support and strengthen democracy to restore the voter's voice.0.50+0.00
LawLong prison sentences generally do little to reduce crime compared with raising the odds of being caught.0.50+0.00
LawJudges should be allowed to keep suspects they consider dangerous in jail before trial, even when those suspects could afford bail.0.50+0.00
TaxesThe highest-earning households should pay a larger share of their income in taxes than they do today.0.50+0.00
TaxesSales taxes on everyday goods should be lower than they are today.0.50+0.00
ElectionsAny registered voter should be able to vote by mail without giving a reason.0.50+0.00
ElectionsVoters should generally be required to show government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot.0.50+0.00
MilitaryThe legislature, not the executive alone, should generally have to approve any sustained military action abroad.0.50+0.00
MilitaryA country should generally keep its military spending high in peacetime rather than cutting it once threats seem to fade.0.50+0.00
Rights & LibertyWe should defend our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech.0.50+0.00
Rights & LibertyWe should defend the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion.0.50+0.00
Democracy & Rule of LawRanked-choice voting produces better electoral outcomes than plurality voting.0.50+0.00
Rights & LibertyEveryone should be treated with respect and dignity.0.50+0.00
TaxesWorkers should get tax cuts, and tips should not be taxed as income.0.50+0.00
TaxesWe should tax property by the value of the land itself, independent of what is or is not built on it.0.50+0.00
Evidence & ProcessAmerica should adopt a comprehensive scorecard that measures national progress across human development, economic vitality, environmental health, and social cohesion, not just GDP.0.50+0.00
Democracy & Rule of LawWe should defend the United States Constitution.0.50+0.00
Democracy & Rule of LawCongressional term limits would reduce corruption and improve legislative quality.0.50+0.00
Democracy & Rule of LawRepresentative civic juries should be convened, online and in person, to deliberate on key legislation.0.50+0.00
Rights & LibertyTrue freedom requires balancing individual liberty with personal responsibility and active civic engagement.0.50+0.00
Evidence & ProcessPublic policy should be driven by data and measurable outcomes rather than by ideology.0.50+0.00
Evidence & ProcessAmerica should strengthen its global leadership by modeling a strong, functioning democracy at home.0.50+0.00
MilitaryWe should give our outdated weapons to democratic allies trying to defend their territory.0.50+0.00
MilitaryA strong America is good for the planet.0.50+0.00
ImmigrationAmerica should encourage legal immigration.0.50+0.00
ImmigrationAmerica should streamline the system to recruit and retain highly skilled workers.0.50+0.00
ImmigrationAmerica should reform its immigration laws.0.50+0.00
ImmigrationAmerica should end illegal immigration.0.50+0.00
ImmigrationAmerica should grow to one billion citizens.0.50+0.00
MilitaryWe cannot stand by while cultures are subjected to genocide, as exemplified by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.0.50+0.00

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Once a belief is filed here, this page takes the full topic layout: where each belief sits, what it assumes, what the two sides value, and the evidence beneath it all.

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Built from revision 42c8344, committed 2026-10-04. 2173 pages. Every number above is computed from the two tables in that revision, so a reader who fetches it gets these numbers and not different ones.