Description
Book SynopsisA new, radical reading of the US constitution
Trade Review'A crucial and timely corrective about what words like democracy and freedom actually meant to the Founders. A gift to serious analysts of US politics - but, more importantly, to those who would build a system that serves people rather than property'
-- Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and author of 'Elite Capture'
'This ambitious, stimulating, thoughtful, exceedingly informative book sets a new standard in scholarship on the vaunted US Constitution'
-- Gerald Horne, author of 'The Dawning of the Apocalypse'
'At a moment when the country is facing a constitutional crisis, it is well to understand what the Constitution is. This close analysis unravels in detail the achievement of the Framers 'to create a perpetual power of the elite minority to check the will of the majority', to ensure that the minority of the opulent would be protected from the threat of popular democracy'
-- Noam Chomsky
'Powerfully addresses how the constitution and US politics reinforce capitalism and its dysfunction, offering crucial insights for the big changes coming'
-- Richard D. Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
'The Constitution is a problem hiding in plain sight. Everyone thinks they know what it means, but no one is willing to look too closely for fear that it might mean something different or that it might mean nothing it all. Robert Ovetz is one of the few who are willing to grapple with the problem head on. He deserves credit for his boldness and intellectual integrity'
-- Dan Lazare, author of ‘The Frozen Republic: How the Constitution Is Paralyzing Democracy’
'An important corrective to a culture that engages in excessive veneration of the document and the political system it created'
-- Sanford Levinson, author of 'Our Undemocratic Constitution'
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The United States - Democracy or Republic?
1. The Framers' Vision
2. Preamble: "Intoxicating Draughts of Liberty Run Mad"
3. Congress: Justice to Property
4. Congress: Designed for Inefficiency
5. Congress: Power of the Purse
6. Executive: The Rule of One
7. Executive: Unrestrained Global Guardian of Property
8. Judiciary: The Servant Above His Master
9. Amendments and Ratification: An Act of Force and Not of Right
10. Beyond Constitution
