The Founding Fathers v. The People

In The Founding Fathers v. the People Tony King set out two contrasting visions of American democracy. The first was constitutionalist, requiring political power to be exercised through institutions that set limits on what governments can do. The second was populist, and claiming that the people are sovereign and there should be no intrinsic limits on their power. This chapter examines the terms of this theoretical tension. It proposes a thesis of minimal constitutionalism, according to which we can have no idea of a democratic system independently of some constitutionalist principles. These constitutional principles incorporate democratic values when applied to the relationship between executive and the legislature. Moreover, liberal rights are not inherently counter-majoritarian. Any seemingly problematic relationship between constitutionalism and democratic principles arises from misinterpretation, a misinterpretation that arises from the myths that surround what Tony King called the two nostalgias.