A Movement for a Democratic Constitution is the Movement of Hope Young People Demand

The Younger generations are ready to fight, if only we could agree what we are fighting for

As a 24-year-old full of spunk, hope and interest in revolutionary politics, I have felt these last few years to be the beginning of new positive politics while also the end of the world as we know it. This dichotomy exists and the fact is, both feelings are true. Historically it’s been 50 plus years since this kind of excitement and fervor for politics and revolutionary change came about with the New Left, the Antiwar Movement, and Civil Rights Movement. For 100 years folks have been talking about the fundamental systemic changes needed, while the doomsday clock has indeed been ticking on a host of issues, the most dire are climate change and ecological apocalypse.

Hopeful “democratic” politics have been burning in my heart like so many others. This kind of politics recognizes that the United States has an undemocratic political system that “freezes” progress and the democratic demands of the people. The US constitution is a direct veto on the American people and the policies they demand. Public opinion has little effect on policy making. This constitution does not represent the people democratically but instead allows for a small minority of power brokers belonging to certain social groups to decide policy and halt democracy. Let’s get specific on the democratic defaults of our constitution. 

Federally the people of the United States are represented in both a popular sense (The House of Reps) and Republican sense (The Senate). The House is based on population and is closest to being a democratic national institution we have, but it too is compromised and falls short of democratic representation. I’d like to dig into the Senate first because it’s the legislative institution with the largest of issues. 

For starters, the Senate as the non-popular chamber constantly blocks legislation that originates in the House with majority or higher public support. It’s able to do this because essentially the Senate represents land not people! You have two Senators for each state in the nation giving equal representation for the states, not the people. This makes the representation in the House based on population nearly worthless in a bicameral (chambered) system. Despite a virtual 50-50 split in the Senate these last few years, Democratic Senators represent about 42 million more Americans than their Republican counterparts. The Filibuster, a Senate rule requiring a super majority of 60 votes to end debate kills the bills from moving forward, making the democratic deficit worse. The Senate violates the basic principle of democratic representation; universal and equal suffrage. 

The House of Representatives is the most democratic institution in our federal government and should be used by the movement for political agitation. The House represents both Americans based on population through districting much smaller zones. While there are much needed reforms for the House to survive into the democratic era of the United States, the average constituency per member is about 750,000. Gerrymandering of districts, the corrupt influence of outside money, and our First-Pass-the-Post (FPTP) voting system all contribute to the violation of one person, one equal vote in the House. 

Honorable mention goes to The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) for its ability through precedent to apply judicial  (or constitutional) review at will. This use of judicial review which some scholars like Daniel Lazare would suggest is implied in the constitution, is again a virtual veto on popular democratic rule by representation. No high court in countries with comparable political systems have the powers of SCOTUS. Canada, Israel, Germany are a few examples that come to mind with judiciaries with judicial review but there are exceptions in their systems unlike the US. In the comparable countries the representative systems are sovereign meaning the legislative institutions that represent the people and pass the laws have authority above their constitutions rather than in the US where the constitution is sovereign above all else. A bit antiquated huh? 

In all the comparable countries, it’s easier to amend the constitution and pass laws. In America, the constitution constrains the people when it should be the other way around. It has become almost impossible to amend. 

The left needs to focus on, and connect the left movements that do not exclusively lie within the socialist world. The climate movement, the movement for black lives, activists for a higher minimum wage, more progressive taxes, and the antiwar movement, like the socialist movement, have an interest in demanding a democratic constitution. Unfortunately, as many more are beginning to realize we are living under a system of tyranny of the minority. Only organizing these democratic movements together to agitate for systemic change and ultimately usher in a democratic constitution can end that.