A radical argument by the leading constitutional scholar that American constitutional law lacks the resources to address our current problems, and risks making them worse
From Parchment to Dust
Constitutional theorists on the Right and the Left are united in the belief that constitutional law and review by the Supreme Court are crucial to the success of the American experiment. Both sides believe that, on issues ranging from affirmative action, reproductive freedom, and gun control, to economic regulation, regulation of speech, and the role of religion in American society, popular democracy is just too dangerous to go unchecked.
In a radical and paradigm-shifting argument sure to change the debate about the rule of law in the age of Trump, leading constitutional law scholar Louis Michael Seidman argues that the American Constitution lacks the resources to address our current problems, and that reliance on it risks making the challenges that face us worse. Seidman, called "one of our greatest living constitutional scholars" by Georgetown University Law professor Rosa Brooks, understands that a natural reaction to the current danger is to shore up the foundations of constitutional theory, uniting in the defense of "the rule of law." But he sees this response as gravely mistaken and bound to fail. As he writes in the introduction, "no one should be fooled into thinking that a legal strategy will stop the broad thrust of the Trump revolution."
Seidman reviews and critiques prevalent constitutional theories on the Right and the Left, from originalism to "living constitutionalism," highlighting ways in which they fail to meet the current moment. Instead, he charts a different way forward. If both sides ended their dogmatic insistence that divisive social issues can be definitively settled by a piece of aging parchment, we might ease political tensions and begin a respectful and productive debate about the deep grievances that are tearing the country apart.
About the Author :
Louis Michael Seidman (both from The New Press) and lives in Washington, DC.
Review :
Praise for The Constitution Cannot Save Us:
“A somber analysis of why the Constitution is no longer sufficient for addressing the challenges America faces.”
—Publishers Weekly
“In The Constitution Cannot Save Us, the distinguished constitutional scholar Louis Michael Seidman offers a brilliant critique of our current system of constitutional law and argues that it is time for us to move beyond that system to a new era, especially in the time of Trump, in which the American people rely on democratic means, rather than on an ancient document, to make our most fundamental national decisions.”
—Geoffrey R. Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Chicago
“Seidman, an admirable and authoritative student of the U.S. Constitution, has given us a compelling corrective to the cult of constitutionalism that permeates the legal academy, significant political circles, and much of civil society. For the sake of the Republic, people need to listen to him.”
—Paul B. Stephan, John C. Jefferies, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Virginia
“The Constitution Cannot Save Us is an urgent, indispensable book, showing with bracing clarity how our reliance on courts and constitutional salvation can heighten the very conflict it promises to settle. Accessible and unsparing, it urges a turn from top-down constitutionalism toward the vital habits of democratic contestation—and the courage to accept that no court can do the work of self-government for us.”
—Laura Weinrib, Fred N. Fishman Professor and Suzanne Young Murray Professor, Harvard Law School, and author of The Taming of Free Speech
