Escaping the Constitutional Bind with Aziz Rana

Donald and Luke talk with Aziz Rana about his latest book, The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document That Fails Them. Rana discusses why constitutional veneration has remained (for now) “a naturalized, unremarked-upon feature” of American life despite the Constitution’s flagrantly undemocratic nature. Along the way, he touches on the Socialist Party of America’s constitutional skepticism, the impact of war and foreign revolutions on constitutional ideology, and the risks and rewards of our current moment. Rana integrates the lives of several important people, including Crystal Eastman, W.E.B DuBois, Eugene Debs, Afemi Shakur, and Charles Beard.

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