John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.”

Kennedy emphasizes the promise and the perils of technology. His assertion that humanity could “abolish all forms of human poverty” reflects an optimistic view of science’s power, sometimes known as positivism. This view led to both praised and criticized Western interventions in the developing world. The use of American know-how reduced infant deaths in Africa and Asia—yet the resulting population growth killed millions because of famine. Faith in the power of science and technology also led to tragic national misadventure in the Vietnam War.

“And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”

The idea that rights derive from a higher power than politics is ancient, dating to classical antiquity. Formulated by Roman orator Cicero (106-43 BCE) and often called Natural Law, this idea was a foundational belief of the Roman Catholicism in which Kennedy was raised—that people all have rights from God or nature that no person or state can take away. This was a core belief of the American Founders too. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that humans had rights from their creator, not from their kings.