Our Undemocratic Constitution

Levinson argues that too many of our Constitution's provisions promote either unjust or ineffective government. Under the existing blueprint, we can neither rid ourselves of incompetent presidents nor assure continuity of government following catastrophic attacks. Less important, perhaps, but certainly problematic, is the appointment of Supreme Court judges for life. Adding insult to injury, the United States Constitution is the most difficult to amend or update ofany constitution currently existing in the world today. Democratic debate leaves few stones unturned, but we tend to take our basic constitutional structures for granted. Levinson boldly challenges the American people to undertake a long overdue public discussion on how they might best reform thismost hallowed document and construct a constitution adequate to our democratic values. "Admirably gutsy and unfashionable." —Michael Kinsley, The New York Times "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." —Cass R. Sunstein, The New Republic "Everyone who cares about how our government works should read this thoughtful book." —Washington Lawyer

Levinson believes that the Constitution is fundamentally undemocratic, and that a new constitutional convention is necessary to bring forward a better charter. His 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., No one doubts that Al Gore got the most votes in 2000, but almost no one feels that this alone means that the presidency was stolen from him. One who does apparently feel that way is Sanford Levinson, [who is] calling for wholesale revision of our nation's founding document. This is admirably gutsy and unfashionable., Admirably gutsy and unfashionable., Everyone who cares about how our government works should read this thoughtful book., Levinson locates the flaws of the system in America's founding document itself

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).