Freedom and Happiness

In the larger discussion of Rob Henderson's reporting on the debate "Has The Sexual Revolution Failed?" that took place recently in Los Angeles, he notes with approval the philosopher Isaiah Berlin's teaching that it is not at all self-evident that all goods must be compatible. 

We can’t have everything good all at once. We can have some good things, but we can’t have all good things at the same time.

Equally desirable ends often collide. Equally valued aims regularly contradict each other.

Many smart people believe that all good things can be made to conspire towards a final harmonious resolution. Freedom is good. Happiness is good. Naturally, we think (or hope) that these and all other values naturally go together. But they don’t.

The British philosopher Isaiah Berlin repeatedly stressed this point:

“The optimistic view…that all good things must be compatible, and that therefore freedom, order, knowledge, happiness…must be at least compatible, and perhaps even entail one another in a systematic fashion…is not self-evidently true…Indeed, it is perhaps one of the least plausible beliefs ever entertained by profound and influential thinkers.”

Life is full of tradeoffs. Equally good and desirable things cannot be harmonized.

The debate was reportedly excellent and fairly conducted. Henderson "notices" the obvious: there is a legitimate debate whether the sexual revolution worked for adults. There is no question it has failed children.