THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT is in serious trouble. An out-of-control Congress that serves special interest lobbies has overtaxed citizens, created a swollen bureaucracy, torpedoed the national economy, and created unequal justice. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, Version 4.0 by Dr. Gordon L. Anderson, LEA Chairman, shows how and why this has happened and what we can do to fix it.

Anderson argues that government is a “social operating system.” The main purpose of any sustainable and legitimate government is to protect the citizen’s free pursuit of happiness. The U.S. Constitution, which Anderson calls Version 3.0, was written for a much simpler and more agrarian society. However, various “viruses” have entered into government and hijacked it, by sabotaging and ignoring original constitutional safeguards and creating new unchecked centers of power that did not exist at the founding.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Version 4.0 is a discussion of the needed reforms of government to make a stable operating system. Like the Founding Fathers did in 1789, Anderson uses the essential principles of government, an understanding of human nature, and lessons from history to fashion “a more perfect government” today. He discusses five principles of good government: protection, subsidiarity, separation of powers, transparency, and the right to secede.

Significant discussions of reform of Congress, Tax Policy, and Welfare address many of the issues, like health care, that seem intractable. This book is for anyone concerned about how the United States government can be reduced to its Constitutional role, and once again provide a framework for the freedom and happiness of its citizens. (It involves returning much usurped power back to the states).

Praise:
“Smart, balanced, and wonderfully readable, Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness Version 4.0 is the perfect antidote to the malaise that seems to be encompassing vast segments of American society. Mired in two wars, and experiencing the most severe economic contraction since the depression, the United States seems to have lost its way. To many, the basic principles and beliefs that made the United States a great country are no longer applicable in today’s world. Gordon Anderson brings much needed balance to the debate over the changes that must occur if the United States is to regain its footing. In doing so, he touches on a series of fundamental issues that have too often been the subject of unhelpful polemics. No axe to grind—just a world-class researcher providing insights to some of the most vexing issues of the day. A fascinating perspective developed with care and judgment.”

“This book does a wonderful job explaining how our evolving political-economic system has moved in a direction not intended by the framers of the U.S. Constitution. The primary undermining of our political system is attributed to several factors: judicial activism, erosion of checks and balances, a tendency for our Federal government and institutions in general to become more centralized, deviating from the goal of subsidiarity, and the deleterious economic impact caused by rent-seeking lobbyists.”

“In Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, Gordon Anderson continues his penetrating analysis of the American constitutional system, of the ‘worms’ that have infected it, and of a restored constitutional structure that will enable it to fill the noble mission the Founding Fathers intended for it.”

“Critical needs besiege the United States. Gordon Anderson’s “state of the union” book rises above partisan politics to identify fundamental steps that all Americans need to take in perilous times to bolster the nation’s commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. His outlook well informed by sound historical understanding, Anderson advances bold public policy strategies, grounded in a political philosophy that emphasizes personal responsibility, the common good, and realistic hope for the American future. Cogent, constructive, controversial—this significant book should be widely read, its wisdom thoughtfully discussed and put into practice.”

“In his clearly articulated interpretation and ‘report card’ on the current status of America’s national ‘mission statement’ (Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness) Gordon Anderson seeks to accomplish through peaceful, critical, and surgical analysis the objectives advocated by Thomas Jefferson in his provocative suggestion for the rewriting of the United States Constitution every couple of decades.

Cognizant of the radical developments that had affected the United States culture, economy and government since the nation’s founding, Dr. Anderson undertakes to identify and reaffirm the underlying principles necessary for the attainment of the mission statement’s objectives: separation of powers, subsidiarity, transparency and (surprisingly?) the right to secede. The restructure of the United States Congress, the funding of government, tax policies, the escalation of welfare programs are thoroughly discussed by Anderson as major topics in his reform implementation agenda.

Anderson’s volume, written in computer-age style, is an important contribution to the understanding, the implementation, the roadblocks, as well as, the facilitators of the American dream. The volume would serve well not only as a reminder, but also as an energizer for the necessary and overdue national, political, and economic policy discussions and reforms. Yet, its lucid contents and writing style make it also a most appropriate supplemental reader for college and university courses about United States government, public policy and political economy.”