[from StacyW] Cato Unbound

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If government powers can be expanded with impunity, regardless of the constitutional text, then rights can be contracted with impunity. My Cato colleague Roger Pilon puts it this way: “A ‘living constitution’ that maximizes political discretion can be worse than no constitution at all. It preserves the facade of constitutional legitimacy while unleashing the political forces that a constitution is meant to restrain.” Indeed, one major reason for the broken judicial confirmation process is the Court’s gradual shift from reliance on the text to reliance on a living Constitution. When the text of our written Constitution is trumped by evolving societal needs, then the judicial function is just politics by another name. No wonder Congress and activist groups are so concerned about a nominee’s views on key public po

Each month, Cato Unbound will present an essay on a big-picture topic by one of the world’s leading thinkers. The ideas in that essay will then be tested by the comments and criticism of equally eminent thinkers, each of whom will respond to the month’s lead essay and then to one another. The idea is to create a hub for wide-ranging, open-ended conversation, where ideas will be advanced, challenged, and refined in public view.

From jpb. Is a B.A. a good thing for everyone?

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