[Poohbah]

I was having a discussion recently with my wife's old German professor from college. We were discussing America, and I said that America isn't founded on any sort of philosophy, but rather on a very practical basis. The Constitution doesn't set forth a philosophy of governance--it's a technical manual.

[My2Cents]

I agree 100%, Poobah. The Constitution does not proclaim a philosophy of government, only a structure of government. But the framers assumed some things in writing that structure. They assumed that liberty is best preserved by limited government; they assumed that liberty can best be preserved by citizens exercising self-control and deference toward the rights of others rather than to selfishly pursue "license" in how they conduct their lives (the greater the self-control and virtue of the populace, the less need there is for a strong government). So, the Constitution does not proclaim a philosophy of government, but it flows from a philosophy of life.