The title made me think of this scene from HBO’s John Adams, where John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin discuss this exact topic. It is I think a reference to this letter from Jefferson to Madison. It’s a bit odd that Jefferson wasn’t mentioned in the article, as this exact question was frequently on his mind. Doesn’t bode well for the author or the book.
JEFFERSON: I am increasingly persuaded that the earth belongs exclusively to the living, and that one generation has no more right to bind another to its laws and judgments than one independent nation has the right to command another.
ADAMS: But surely the Constitution, as it did with the ones we wrote for our own States, is meant to establish the stability and the long-term legality essential to the continuation of civilized society.
Personally, I think Jefferson’s viewpoint is a bit naive, and I tend to side with Adams and look at the constitution (and more broadly, customs and laws of past generations) as a kind of Chesterton’s Fence. The generation of founding fathers may not be up-to-date on contemporary trends, but I think I’d still take their dead opinions as a better starting point over whatever nonsense would come out of a constitutional convention held today.
JEFFERSON: I am increasingly persuaded that the earth belongs exclusively to the living, and that one generation has no more right to bind another to its laws and judgments than one independent nation has the right to command another.
ADAMS: But surely the Constitution, as it did with the ones we wrote for our own States, is meant to establish the stability and the long-term legality essential to the continuation of civilized society.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-12-02-024...
https://youtu.be/QcWaCsvpikQ?si=wUFLsImIXRAUepcJ
Personally, I think Jefferson’s viewpoint is a bit naive, and I tend to side with Adams and look at the constitution (and more broadly, customs and laws of past generations) as a kind of Chesterton’s Fence. The generation of founding fathers may not be up-to-date on contemporary trends, but I think I’d still take their dead opinions as a better starting point over whatever nonsense would come out of a constitutional convention held today.