Most political arguments follow this syllogism: “Group X deserves high status. Group X would support policy Y. Therefore, we should do Y.”For the right wing, X might be big-business, small-town America, the founding fathers or Jesus. For the left-wing, X might be the poor, the green or Europeans.But from left or right, “WWXD” is a lousy way to resolve political conflicts.For example: The main problem with the left-wing’s idolization of Europe is irrelevancy.Europe has more public transportation than we do. Some would say that’s proof selfish, amoral Americans have a lot to learn from our older cousins overseas.Perhaps. Or maybe it’s just a symptom of Europe’s higher population density.Maybe America’s tax rates would be more European if every American state had a different language, and it was harder to move away from oppressive local taxation.Maybe income inequality in America would be lower without our recent, shameful history of racial oppression.Maybe America has more obesity than Europe because more Americans tried to quit smoking.There’s a lot to be learned from cross-country comparisons, but the vast differences between America and Europe often make arguments irrelevant and unpersuasive.Be skeptical of attempts to conflate foreign countries with our own, and be especially wary whenever it’s mixed with a moralistic tone.Where left-wing idolatry is often irrelevant, the right’s idolization of the Founding Fathers is often grossly inaccurate.Contrary to popular belief, the Constitution is not a libertarian document.The first sentence gives the government power to “promote the general Welfare,” and the second sentence says “all legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.”Outside of the ignored Bill of Rights, the Constitution doesn’t limit governmental power — it merely delegates powers to different branches of government.The closest thing to an exception is the “Interstate Commerce Clause” — the section of the Constitution giving Congress the authority to regulate commerce “among the several States.”The feds didn’t regulate economic transactions for a while unless they crossed state lines, but this restraint slowly melted away. The death knell came in Wickard v. Filburn.The Supreme Court ruled in 1942 farmer Roscoe Filburn was subject to Congress’ wheat production rules even though he was growing grain for his own personal use. After all, the court unanimously reasoned, if he hadn’t grown the wheat, he might’ve bought it from someone else who might’ve been from another state.The Constitution barely limits the power of government in its design, and it has zero limits in practice.And, for what it’s worth, the revered Founding Fathers weren’t loyal libertarians either. George Washington enacted the Whiskey Tax, which was far more oppressive than the Stamp Act over which he led American soldiers to their deaths. His successors, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both imprisoned journalists who criticized their policies.Oh, and the national debt nearly tripled while Ronald Reagan was in office.Maybe we should enact libertarian reforms — but not because respected past presidents did. History says they didn’t.But these details are less important than the form of the argument. Good decisions aren’t made by sympathizing with one side at the exclusion of another side. Optimal decisions are reached through negotiation, usually not a feature of the win-lose world of politics. Daniel Morgan is a 22-year-old economics senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_dmorgan.– – – -Contact Daniel Morgan at [email protected]