These five come from the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the structural logic of the founding-era political design — not from modern ideology. Every action you see scored on this site is scored against these five, and only these five.
Each section below has the plain-English version, a “how would I explain this to a ten-year-old” version, the formal definition, a simple test you can apply to any action, a named founding-era source, and live examples of evaluations that scored positive, neutral, and negative on the principle.
Liberty
You should be free to make your own choices, speak freely, worship freely, organize, and live by your conscience — as long as you are not trampling someone else’s rights.
In plain terms
“You can live your life your way, but you do not get to take away someone else’s freedom.”
A quick way to tell
Does this expand freedom or restrict it more than necessary?
Then ask: If it restricts, is the restriction defined by law, applied equally, and subject to review?
Formal definitionExpandCollapse
Government exists to secure pre-existing rights — not grant them. Liberty includes freedom of speech; religious liberty; property rights; bodily autonomy; protection from arbitrary detention; and protection from unreasonable searches. Structural meaning: government power must be constrained, defined, and procedurally limited. Liberty is not “do whatever you want.” It is freedom protected by structure.
Verbatim from CORE_VALUES.md, Part 2.
Founding anchorExpandCollapse
First Amendment, ratified 1791
“Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The First Amendment codified structural protections the founders fought over; it did not resolve, at the time, who those protections fully applied to. The text became load-bearing as later amendments and jurisprudence expanded its reach.
From real evaluations
One example per score tier, pulled live from recorded evaluations. Score direction and confidence shown. For what the scores mean, see the methodology.
Equality Before the Law
The rules should not change based on who you are, how powerful you are, how much money you have, or which team you are on.
In plain terms
“The ref should call the same game for everybody.”
A quick way to tell
Would this apply the same way to everyone?
Formal definitionExpandCollapse
The law must apply equally. Not equality of outcome — equality of legal standing. Equal protection; equal application of statutes; no selective enforcement; no privileged classes. Structural meaning: the rule must apply the same way regardless of who holds power.
Verbatim from CORE_VALUES.md, Part 2.
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Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1, ratified 1868
“… nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified after a civil war that exposed how far the founding generation fell short of the standard it claimed. Equality before the law as we now read it is as much Reconstruction’s achievement as it is the founders’.
From real evaluations
One example per score tier, pulled live from recorded evaluations. Score direction and confidence shown. For what the scores mean, see the methodology.
Consent of the Governed
Government is supposed to get its authority from the people, directly or through representatives — not act like it owns them.
In plain terms
“The people are the boss. Leaders only borrow power.”
A quick way to tell
Did the people actually have a say, directly or through their representatives?
Then ask: If power was delegated, was the delegation itself authorized through a legitimate legislative act?
Formal definitionExpandCollapse
Authority must flow upward from the people, not downward from rulers. Representative government; elections; lawmaking through legitimate process; legislative accountability. Structural meaning: power must be traceable to democratic authorization. Emergency power without consent is suspect.
Verbatim from CORE_VALUES.md, Part 2.
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Federalist No. 39, Madison, 1788
“It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it.”
Madison argued for popular derivation of authority while designing a structure that, at the time, excluded most of the population from direct participation. The principle outlived those exclusions; the exclusions did not survive the principle.
From real evaluations
One example per score tier, pulled live from recorded evaluations. Score direction and confidence shown. For what the scores mean, see the methodology.
Limited & Divided Power
No one person or group should get all the controls. Power should be split up so it can check itself.
In plain terms
“Nobody should hold the steering wheel, the brakes, and the rulebook all at once.”
A quick way to tell
Is someone taking power they were not meant to have?
Then ask: And if so, is there an active mechanism still capable of checking it?
Formal definitionExpandCollapse
The central engineering insight of the Constitution. Power must be separated across branches, balanced, checked, and federally divided. No single institution should accumulate unchecked authority. Even good intentions must not bypass checks. This pillar is often the most important for drift analysis.
Verbatim from CORE_VALUES.md, Part 2.
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Federalist No. 51, Madison, 1788
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary … you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
Madison’s argument for structural restraint was also an argument for why no faction — including his own — could be trusted with unchecked power. That read is the durable part.
From real evaluations
One example per score tier, pulled live from recorded evaluations. Score direction and confidence shown. For what the scores mean, see the methodology.
Rule of Law
The country should run by rules and legal process, not by whoever is loudest, strongest, or in charge today.
In plain terms
“You do not get to change the rules just because you are winning.”
A quick way to tell
Are the rules being followed or bypassed?
Then ask: If they are being bypassed, is the bypass itself authorized by a higher law or a legitimate emergency provision, applied consistently?
Formal definitionExpandCollapse
Government must operate under law, not personal discretion. Due process; judicial review; legal transparency; defined procedures; reviewable enforcement. Structural meaning: no one is above the law — including government officials. Arbitrary power violates this pillar.
Verbatim from CORE_VALUES.md, Part 2.
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Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803)
“It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.”
Marshall’s opinion did not declare judicial review the founders’ unanimous design; it argued the structure required it. That structural reading became foundational practice, and with it, the durable expectation that enforcement can be reviewed.
From real evaluations
One example per score tier, pulled live from recorded evaluations. Score direction and confidence shown. For what the scores mean, see the methodology.
Minority Protection
A majority — even a big one — cannot use the law to strip rights, participation, or institutional standing from a minority that the majority itself keeps. Counting votes is necessary; deciding everything by votes is not.
In plain terms
“Just because more kids agree doesn’t mean the rest lose their turn.”
A quick way to tell
Does this protect or strip institutional standing from a group the majority itself keeps?
Then ask: Especially: would the supporters accept the same treatment if the political balance reversed?
Formal definitionExpandCollapse
Constitutional limits on majoritarian faction. Majorities must not use otherwise-legitimate government channels to strip a minority of rights, participation, or institutional standing that the majority itself keeps. Structural meaning: counting votes is necessary for legitimacy, but a majority that uses its numbers to durably exclude another group from the process the majority itself enjoys violates the constitutional bargain. Added to methodology v=3.1 on 2026-04-24.
Verbatim from CORE_VALUES.md, Part 2.
Founding anchorExpandCollapse
Federalist No. 10, Madison, 1787
“By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”
Madison was explicit that majority factions are as dangerous as minority ones — and arguably harder to check, because in a republic the majority controls the process. The structural answer was not to forbid majority rule but to require institutions, due process, and rights guarantees that a temporary majority cannot simply override.
From real evaluations
One example per score tier, pulled live from recorded evaluations. Score direction and confidence shown. For what the scores mean, see the methodology.