Identify Books Concering On Constitutional Disobedience
| ISBN: | 0199898278 (ISBN13: 9780199898275) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Louis Michael Seidman
Hardcover | Pages: 176 pages Rating: 3.71 | 35 Users | 5 Reviews
Representaion In Pursuance Of Books On Constitutional Disobedience
What would the Framers of the Constitution make of multinational corporations? Nuclear weapons? Gay marriage? They led a preindustrial country, much of it dependent on slave labor, huddled on the Atlantic seaboard. The Founders saw society as essentially hierarchical, led naturally by landed gentry like themselves. Yet we still obey their commands, two centuries and one civil war later. According to Louis Michael Seidman, it's time to stop.In On Constitutional Disobedience, Seidman argues that, in order to bring our basic law up to date, it needs benign neglect. This is a highly controversial assertion. The doctrine of "original intent" may be found on the far right, but the entire political spectrum--left and right--shares a deep reverence for the Constitution. And yet, Seidman reminds us, disobedience is the original intent of the Constitution. The Philadelphia convention had gathered to amend the Articles of Confederation, not toss them out and start afresh. The "living Constitution" school tries to bridge the gap between the framers and ourselves by reinterpreting the text in light of modern society's demands. But this attempt is doomed, Seidman argues. One might stretch "due process of law" to protect an act of same-sex sodomy, yet a loyal-but-contemporary reading cannot erase the fact that the Constitution allows a candidate who lost the popular election to be seated as president. And that is only one of the gross violations of popular will enshrined in the document. Seidman systematically addresses and refutes the arguments in favor of Constitutional fealty, proposing instead that it be treated as inspiration, not a set of commands.
The Constitution is, at its best, a piece of poetry to liberty and self-government. If we treat it as such, the author argues, we will make better progress in achieving both.
Mention Of Books On Constitutional Disobedience
| Title | : | On Constitutional Disobedience |
| Author | : | Louis Michael Seidman |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 176 pages |
| Published | : | January 31st 2013 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published December 31st 2012) |
| Categories | : | Law. Nonfiction. Politics |
Rating Of Books On Constitutional Disobedience
Ratings: 3.71 From 35 Users | 5 ReviewsEvaluation Of Books On Constitutional Disobedience
The founding fathers of America were also the Framers of the Constitution for which the nation continues to swear by.If you actually take a closer look at the original tenets, there are many anomalies that just seem very out of place in the day, the advocation of slavery being just one them.The question Seidman poses is simple, why are the US populace, We the Living People, living by the posturing of dead founders, when other civilised nations get by without the need for this antiquated rubric?This will probably be most interesting to someone new to the idea of constitutional disobedience. The author lays out a clear, commonsense rationale for ending our obligation to the constitution. It provides brief historical elements, primarily regarding the history of disobedience coming from politicians and judges. The author makes his point well, but can also be quite repetitive at times.
I feel the same way about the constitution as I do about all scriptures and similar documents of the past: why on earth should we feel obligated to adhere to the wrongheaded, sometimes immoral dictates of long dead people who lived in a world vastly different from our own? Yes, there is much good in both constitutions and scriptures, but as Louis Seidman says, we should adhere to what is good simply because it is good, not because it was written down a long time ago.Seidman's book is fair,
Very odd premise, but I kind of want him to be right, because it's better than the deep despair I've felt trying to reconcile most political actors absolute disregard for the Constitution with the sense that it should be adhered to. For a book of political theory, this is refreshingly concise and plainly written. But, on the other hand, they talk about a DC circuit judge called Brett Cavenaugh, which was poor proofreading in 2012 and is now just embarrassing.
Louis Michael Seidman is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law Center. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1971, Professor Seidman served as a law clerk for J. Skelly Wright of the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He then was a staff attorney with the D.C. Public Defender Service until joining the Law Center
I just read this book in its entirety on a flight to Orlando. It's very provocative and at times might have been a little too abstract for a non-specialist but Seidman's main point comes through very clear with helpful examples from recent and early US history. There was an oped in the Times "Lets Give Up on the Constitution" based on it.
Very odd premise, but I kind of want him to be right, because it's better than the deep despair I've felt trying to reconcile most political actors absolute disregard for the Constitution with the sense that it should be adhered to. For a book of political theory, this is refreshingly concise and plainly written. But, on the other hand, they talk about a DC circuit judge called Brett Cavenaugh, which was poor proofreading in 2012 and is now just embarrassing.
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