Every state rests on certain propositions that are treated as prior to ordinary politics. These are not policies to be debated but premises on which debate is conducted. They are the things a political community takes as given — the ground on which it builds.
Call these founding axioms. They are present in every mode of governing, but they function very differently depending on how they are held.
In a consensual state, the axioms are proceduralized. They are written into constitutional texts, interpreted by courts through adversarial process, amended through defined (usually difficult) mechanisms, and enforced by institutions that are themselves subject to law. No single person or class owns the axioms. The axioms constrain power rather than conferring it.
This demonstrates two problems with the American system:
ONE. The axioms have been on a random walk for at least 50 years. How does Chadha v. INS interact with Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo? Nobody knows.
TWO. We don't agree on what the axioms are, and people won't agree on what words mean when they are trying to be difficult.
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