JtC posted a helpful essay yesterday that kicked off a discussion about c99 and issues.

Johnny said this in conclusion:

Surely I understand that electing the right politician will help with the issues before us, but my point is that this site was never fixated on electoral politics up until very recently, and hopefully someday and someday soon we can get back to the issues.

How does one think productively about the issues? One begins with first principles.
Defining the issues must begin with first principles or anything and everything could be relevant.
What then constitutes first principles? More below.