Why the Constitution Matters (Why X Matters Series) [Hardcover]

Mark Tushnet (Author)

Book Description

Series: Why X Matters Series | Publication Date: May 25, 2010

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An outstanding introduction to the many ways that the Constitution shapes American politics, and politics shapes American constitutional law.”—Jack M. Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment, Yale Law School

(Jack M. Balkin )

“Mark Tushnet has written a profoundly important and illuminating book in a wonderfully conversational style.  Its emphasis on the importance of structures--and, especially, political parties—is an important corrective to the common reduction of the Constitution to a system of ‘fundamental rights.’  It deserves to be read by scholars, students, and citizens alike who wish to learn what difference it might truly make that we conduct our politics under the aegis of the Constitution.”—Sanford Levinson, author of Our Undemocratic Constitution:  Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It)

(Sanford Levinson )

"Mark Tushnet is the leading constitutional scholar of his generation.  In this book, he addresses constitutional law’s central questions:  How and why does the Constitution matter? His answers – both persuasive and deeply disturbing – will surprise virtually all of his readers."—Louis Michael Seidman, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center

(Louis Michael Seidman )

“Mark Tushnet has squared the circle by writing a book that is both accessible and highly sophisticated.  It offers an engaging précis of Tushnet''s own thought, and also of a large body of recent work at the intersection of legal theory and political science.  Yet it refuses to oversimplify and itself makes fresh theoretical contributions.  An admirable achievement that should improve public discourse about the role of the Constitution.”—Adrian Vermeule, Harvard Law School

(Adrian Vermeule )

“Mark Tushnet has issued another bold challenge to constitutional orthodoxy in the United States.  His incisive examination of how the Constitution of the United States does more to structure politics than dictate specific outcomes will fascinate lawyers, political scientists and citizens.”—Mark Grabar, Professor of Law and Government, University of Maryland

(Mark Grabar )

"The book is an enjoyable read, written in conversational style and filled with interesting snippets of legal history, constitutional history, and political science. . . By publishing a concise and accessible book on this subject, he may succeed in communicating with those outside the small tribe of law professors and political scientists who have been having this conversation among themselves."—Amanda Frost, The Green Bag

(Amanda Frost The Green Bag )

"The book is a very interesting read and would be an excellent supplement in an undergraduate constitutional law class."—T. M. Jackson, CHOICE

(T. M. Jackson CHOICE )

About the Author

Mark Tushnet is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Harvard University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300150369
• ISBN-13: 978-0300150360
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for lawyers and non-lawyers, September 20, 2010

By 

W. P. McCrone (Tucson, Az. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Why the Constitution Matters (Why X Matters Series) (Hardcover)

Mark Tushnet has done a great service to legal professionals AND lay readers in articulating the evolving role of the Constitution and Supreme Court. He also gives you a sense of the political dynamics of both. The writing style is clear and engaging. Highly recommended.

2.0 out of 5 stars How it Matters, August 24, 2011

By 

G.X. Larson (Southeastern Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why the Constitution Matters (Why X Matters Series) (Hardcover)

This book's dust jacket claims that "Why the Constitution Matters" is "a surprising and unconventional work", although the author, Professor Mark Tushnet, claims that his argument is a common one in academia. I was indeed surprised at this work, but I was also slightly frustrated, as the book often had the feeling of a stream of consciousness. The argument often took long and winding detours, as if Tushnet wasn't quite sure where he was going half of the time, and some of the passages were nigh incomprehensible, like this one (which took me about twenty re-reads to comprehend): "Franklin Roosevelt, a reconstructive president, had to deal with a Supreme Court shaped by the regime that he proposed to transform dramatically with support from a substantial minority of the American people."

Anyway, Tushnet's argument is that the American Constitution matters not because it protects rights and liberties, but because it structures our nation's politics. The Constitution gives us our party system, even though nothing is written in the text about political parties. The Constitution also shapes the way political actors are chosen (duh) and behave. Political actors such as the president appoint Supreme Court justices, and these justices are hence part of the political system and not immune to politics (don't let anyone tell you differently). In this way politics, not the Constitution, matter, which is slightly disturbing given the important questions and issues that our Constitution is purported to settle. In the end, Tushnet says that our political system isn't too democratic in places that it should be (I agree), and calls for amendment-bypassing reforms.

3 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Why Mark Tushnet Believes the Constitution Does Not Matter Much, September 27, 2010

By 

Ernest Boehm (Des Plaines, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why the Constitution Matters (Why X Matters Series) (Hardcover)

The author seems to believe or wants the reader to believe that that constution does not matter much with the following exceptions
- Political parties exist and there are elections set up by the constution that the political parties participate in.
- The Supreme Court is biased arbirtrator of the constitution but what they decide does not really effect us much.

He makes a statment saying that the constitution does not matter much. Well haveing been to 17 countries with differnet forms of government than the US, I believe that our constituion does matter quite a bit. In Saudi Arabia there is no freedom of speach or religion. You are not going to set up a church or an athiest newspaper there. If you are a woman you will not drive vote or most often work. Try to assemble three poeple for an anti governent rally in Saudi, Qatar, Baharain or China see what happens.

The author does not believe the constitution protects our rights or is an arbritor of our rights. He is not vary interested in seperation of powers, historical gains in property rights and personal expression and equality.

In fact the constitutional scholar who wrote this book seems to want a constitutional convention to make the constitution matter. He wants to have more sway in elections and spends most of the book talking about elections.

I think this book should be read so that
A: People do not have to take my word but make their own judgement.
B: To see if they agree with the stance of M. Tushnet.
C: It is important that if you want to understand the consitution and how it matters that you see how it is minimalized by constitutional scholars who wish to bypass it and marginalize it. (again this is opinion and you should form your own not take my word for it.)
D: It gave me a lot of food for thought and I have had good converstations about this book with others who agree and mostly disagree with it.
Note two other volumes in this series Why Translation Matters and Why Poetry Matters are top notch and well worth the read. I am a supporter of this series because it evokes thought that do not agree with my own, which can be express by others and are again protected by our wonderful constitution.

Ernest Boehm