The Deconstitutionalization of America The Forgotten Frailties of Democratic Rule

The American Constitution held out the hope that ordinary people were capable of deciding their own fates, and in doing so it immeasurably elevated the dignity of common people. The organization and interplay of the parts that comprise the whole American government exist to provide people the opportunity to govern themselves and, at the same time, reveal the limits of democratic self-rule. The forgetting of these limits is not only destructive to the constitution but the nation as a whole.

David E. Marion is Director of the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest at Hampden-Sydney College.