Prelude: The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson
Introduction: A Tale of Two Signings
1: The Ratification Referendum: Sending the Constitution to a New
Convention for Repair
2: Our Undemocratic Legislative Process
3: The Legacy of Article II: Too-Powerful Presidents, Chosen in an
Indefensible Process, Who Cannot Be Displaced Even When They Are
Manifestly Incompetent
4: Life Tenure for Supreme Court Justices: An Idea Whose Time Has
Passed
5: The Constitution as Creator of Second-Class Citizens
6: The Impermeable Article V
7: Disenchantment and Desire: What Is to Be Done?
Coda: The Wisdom of Woodrow Wilson
Appendix: The Constitution of the United States
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
Sanford Levinson holds the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. The author of over 200 articles in professional and more popular journals, his books include Constitutional Faith (1988); Written in Stone (1998); Wrestling With Diversity (2003) and the edited volume, Torture: A Collection (Oxford University Press, 2004).
"Levinson's critical discussion of the founding document is bold,
bracingly unromantic, and filled with illuminating insights. He
accomplishes an unlikely feat, which is to make a really serious
argument for a new constitutional convention, one that is founded
squarely on democratic ideals. Levinson has valuably shown that
parts of America's founding document are seriously flawed, and he
has demonstrated that both representatives and citizens should
treat the
document not with "sanctimonious reverence" but as the revisable
product of fallible human beings."--Cass R. Sunstein, The New
Republic
"Admirably gutsy and unfashionable."--Michael Kinsley, The New York
Times Book Review
"Levinson locates the flaws of the system in America's founding
document itself--the Constitution. His book is compelling because
of [his] breadth of erudition and his willingness to propose
solutions to the flaws he perceives."--John O. McGinnis, The Wall
Street Journal, Northwestern University School of Law
"Everyone who cares about how our government works should read this
thoughtful book."--Washington Lawyer
"Sanford Levinson's irreverent tour reveals the subtle and
not-so-subtle ways our Constitution blocks the responsible practice
of democratic government. We ignore his critique at our
peril."--Bruce Ackerman, Yale Law School
"Sanford Levinson is the most imaginative, innovative and
provocative constitutional scholar of our time. His new, sharp
critique of the Constitution makes for bracing reading and forces
us to confront what we really think of the Constitution. Every
American needs to read this book and see if he or she agrees with
Levinson that it is necessary to abandon the Framer's work and
adopt a fundamentally new system of government. This work cannot
be
ignored."--Walter Dellinger, O'Melveny & Myers, Former Acting
Solicitor General of the United States
"In an ideal world, every citizen would read this book and ponder
the profound issues it raises about how to achieve democracy in our
republic. As Socratic in spirit, as it is engaging in style, this
is a marvelous guide to the pros and cons of democratic reform.
Take up its invitation to look freshly at institutions you have
taken for granted."--James Fishkin, Stanford University
"Few scholars are in the same league with Professor Sanford
Levinson when it comes to raising provocative questions about the
Constitution and conventional modes of interpreting its provisions.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with his analyses and prescriptions
is largely beside the point; what matters is that he forces readers
to think about dimensions of constitutional questions that
ordinarily go unnoticed. In Our Undemocratic Constitution,
Professor Levinson is at his thought-provoking best."--Robert P.
George, Princeton University
"A lucidly written and compelling work, Our Undemocratic
Constitution asks hard questions about the nature of our founding
document. Levinson, who is one of the nation's leading
constitutional scholars, argues here that much about the
Constitution stands in need of dramatic change. This is a timely
and important book, and our country would benefit if its ideas
provoked real debate."--Elena Kagan, Dean, Harvard Law School
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