The Constitution and the Good.

The Preamble can easily be read as an expression of the belief that the polity being proposed is a means to General Welfare.  Whether or not they believe more precisely that the latter is the Highest Good, to which their experiment is either the only means or the best means, is possible, though is not explicitly stated.  But, their We can also be interpreted as a Good in-itself.  For, it constitutes an elevation of Character in two respects--as transcending mere Egocentrism, and as a moment of Empowerment, each of which is highly valued in the Ethics of Aristotle, Spinoza, and Kant.  In either case, private satisfaction, prevalently promoted in their experiment several centuries later, is a relatively petty Good.