With quiet eloquence, Lane Sunderland argues that we must reclaim
the fundamental principles of the Constitution if we are to restore
democratic government to its proper role in American life. For far
too long, he contends, the popular will has been held in check by
an overly powerful Supreme Court using non-constitutional
principles to make policy and promote its own political agendas.
His work shows why this has diminished American democracy and what
we can do to revive it.
Sunderland presents a strong, thoughtful challenge to the
constitutional theories promoted by Ronald Dworkin, Archibald Cox,
Richard Epstein, Michael Perry, John Hart Ely, Robert Bork, Philip
Kurland, Laurence Tribe, Mark Tushnet, and Catharine MacKinnon--an
enormously diverse group united by an apparent belief in judicial
supremacy. Their theories, he demonstrates, undermine the
democratic foundations of the Constitution and the power of the
majority to resolve for itself important questions of justice.
Central to this enterprise is Sunderland's reconsideration of
The Federalist as the first, most reliable, and most profound
commentary on the Constitution. "The Federalist," he states, "is
crucial because it explains the underlying theory of the
Constitution as a whole, a theory that gives meaning to its
particular provisions." In addition, Sunderland reexamines the
Declaration of Independence and the work of Hobbes, Locke, and
Montesquieu, in order to better define the nature and limits of
their influence on the Framers. His reading of these works in
conjunction with The Federalist shows just how far afield
contemporary commentators have strayed.
Sunderland deliberately echoes and amplifies Madison's wisdom in
Federalist No. 10 that the object of the Constitution is "to secure
the public good and private rights . . . and at the same time to
preserve the spirit and form of popular government." To attain that
object, he persuasively argues, requires that the judiciary
acknowledge and enforce the constitutional limitations upon its own
powers. In an era loudly proclaiming the return of popular
government, majority rule, and the "will of the people," that
argument is especially relevant and appealing.
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