By Cornelius Raff, Associate and BVS volunteer at the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy
You don’t have to be very interested or invested in politics to come across phrases like “common sense bill” or hear an elected official say “it’s common sense that this policy will help the American people in this or that way”, no matter their political affiliation. Isn’t that great? So many of our legislators from all across the political spectrum seem to have so much empathy and such a great sense of what is reasonable, what the vast majority of people so desperately need. Do they really?
Comme ci, comme ça. In fact, there are a number of reasons why this very appealing notion of “common sense” is problematic and often just a rhetorical illusion.
A newly released bill, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 perfectly illustrates how this problematic claim of common sense fails to meet its promises.
The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 – a bill that was passed in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July this year – was ambitiously praised by Ranking Committee Member and co-drafter Senator Manchin as a “common sense, bipartisan piece of legislation” in a press release following the bill’s release.
But a closer look at the actual content and possible impacts of the bill may spark some doubts of its ability to achieve what co-authors of the bill claim to be “common sense”.
On the one hand, the bill would generously invest in renewable energy sources, investments into a sustainable and more prosperous future to bolster us up in our fight against climate change. However, the bill also calls to further authorize federal oil and gas lease sales of over 60 million acres per year while conveniently tying the current review process of current gas exports to outdated and inaccurate studies to expedite sales. Additionally, the proposed provisions would not only risk to haphazardly eliminate crucial reviews of gas sales but also curb opportunities for legal challenge. Once approved by the Department of Energy, gas sales are permitted to operate for decades since gas export projects take years to build. Thus, authorized sales that lack adequate review would cause severe pollution and environmental disruption on impacted local communities and lands for years to come with very limited avenues for legal intervention.
“The Brethren have, in resolutions and statements by Annual Conference and the denominational board, clearly stated the relationship between human suffering, fossil fuel consumption, and climate change.” – 2018 Annual Conference statement, “Creation Care”
In conclusion, this “common sense” bill would very much lock us in for several years of dependence on fossil fuels and further drive the destruction of our planet rather than achieving what’s good and sensible for the common good – appropriately addressing global warming in a race against time.
The common sense label is simply an appealing notion used by lawmakers and debaters to make it seem like they are serving the needs of the common people to create a sense of unity.
Legislators who claim “common sense” for themselves make themselves appear as a more down-to-earth kind of politician as “one of us”, a “problem solver” or mediator who holds the same values as the common person, someone who takes responsibility and who hasn’t abandoned his or her common sense.
Politicians, and especially elected officials often like to frame their arguments this way to serve their own convenience and comfort in a way that sheerly eliminates any need to provide further examples or laying out evidence and details to foster the credibility of their talking points.
Commonly referred to in philosophy as argument from incredulity, an appeal to common sense and claiming to be right by simply saying so as an isolated argument is illogical and often disingenuous.
In a time of increasing divisiveness and injustice, the yearn for unity and just policies is as necessary as it has ever been. But we do not solve complex and urgent political issues by irresponsibly claiming to be prophets of a universal common reason that serves the common good when the policies proposed in fact increase harm or negatively impact a large range of communities.
So the next time you hear the words “common sense” used by a politician or someone trying to persuade you, always question their reasoning and ask for details.