Politics in Question What's wrong with the Constitution?
In this week’s episode, Sanford Levinson joins Lee and James to discuss constitutional reform. Levinson holds the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. He is also a professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas. Levinson is the author of numerous articles and books, including Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It) and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Government. His most recent book is Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Graphic Novel (Macmillan, 2020).
Is the United States Constitution undemocratic? Does its complex institutional structure prevent Americans from doing big things in politics? Or does it ensure that no one rules America? What would a more democratic Constitution look like? What does it take to change the Constitution? And can Americans change it without empowering a majority to rule? These are some of the questions Sandy, Lee, and James ask in this week’s episode.