In this surprising and highly unconventional work, Harvard law professor Mark Tushnet poses a seemingly simple question that yields a thoroughly unexpected answer. The Constitution matters, he argues, not because it structures our government but because it structures our politics. He maintains that politicians and political parties - not Supreme Court decisions - are the true engines of constitutional change in our system. This message will empower all citizens who use direct political action to define and protect our rights and liberties as Americans. Unlike legal scholars who consider the Constitution only as a blueprint for American democracy, Tushnet focuses on the ways it serves as a framework for political debate. Each branch of government draws substantive inspiration and procedural structure from the Constitution but can effect change only when there is the political will to carry it out. Tushnet's political understanding of the Constitution therefore does not demand that citizens pore over the specifics of each Supreme Court decision in order to improve our nation. Instead, by providing key facts about Congress, the president, and the nature of the current constitutional regime, his book reveals not only why the Constitution matters to each of us but also, and perhaps more important, how it matters.
0 有用 一尺烛光 2015-06-25 20:47:40
老爷子一以贯之的吐糟,以后万一教学生了第一节宪法可也要这么吓唬他们:宪法重要是因为规定了看上去让人热泪盈眶的基本权利吗?想太多了骚年!宪法重要是因为由它规定的基本组织结构的国家政治重要!全书基本上都是老梗,前一半说联邦框架下美国政党制,后一半一个高度政治化的最高法院,通过法官任命,被政客们利用做了很多后者想做而不得的事情,当然首当其中被抨击的就是沃伦法院。老爷子自己也直言是conventional... 老爷子一以贯之的吐糟,以后万一教学生了第一节宪法可也要这么吓唬他们:宪法重要是因为规定了看上去让人热泪盈眶的基本权利吗?想太多了骚年!宪法重要是因为由它规定的基本组织结构的国家政治重要!全书基本上都是老梗,前一半说联邦框架下美国政党制,后一半一个高度政治化的最高法院,通过法官任命,被政客们利用做了很多后者想做而不得的事情,当然首当其中被抨击的就是沃伦法院。老爷子自己也直言是conventional wisdom among scholars。简短易读,可做休闲读物,没有太多学术性的分析,文风也属可望亦可及的plain English。 (展开)
0 有用 一尺烛光 2015-06-25 20:47:40
老爷子一以贯之的吐糟,以后万一教学生了第一节宪法可也要这么吓唬他们:宪法重要是因为规定了看上去让人热泪盈眶的基本权利吗?想太多了骚年!宪法重要是因为由它规定的基本组织结构的国家政治重要!全书基本上都是老梗,前一半说联邦框架下美国政党制,后一半一个高度政治化的最高法院,通过法官任命,被政客们利用做了很多后者想做而不得的事情,当然首当其中被抨击的就是沃伦法院。老爷子自己也直言是conventional... 老爷子一以贯之的吐糟,以后万一教学生了第一节宪法可也要这么吓唬他们:宪法重要是因为规定了看上去让人热泪盈眶的基本权利吗?想太多了骚年!宪法重要是因为由它规定的基本组织结构的国家政治重要!全书基本上都是老梗,前一半说联邦框架下美国政党制,后一半一个高度政治化的最高法院,通过法官任命,被政客们利用做了很多后者想做而不得的事情,当然首当其中被抨击的就是沃伦法院。老爷子自己也直言是conventional wisdom among scholars。简短易读,可做休闲读物,没有太多学术性的分析,文风也属可望亦可及的plain English。 (展开)