Civil liberties aren’t “balanced” with the other stuff

“It’s an emergency so we have to balance civil liberties with safety.”

No!

Society tries to find a balance among many competing trade offs including healthcare, defense, schools, highways, etc.

BUT ONE THING NOT ON THAT LIST IS…

— Civil Liberties —

Civil liberties are *constraints* on action, not a utility in the mix to be compromised.

Civil liberties are like property:

You’re free to build a great back yard on your property, and in doing so you will encounter trade offs among grass space, deck size, pool size, fence height, etc.

But notice that moving the property line is NOT on that list — it’s a fixed constraint.