No Democracy Lasts Forever

""Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley, pushes the tradition of constitutional criticism to new heights with No Democracy Lasts Forever. In this brief mix of political commentary and legal analysis, he confidently argues that the time has come to replace the Constitution entirely. His work provides a compelling critique of the current state of American democracy and its foundational document, revealing tensions within the Constitution that are often overlooked by the general public."" -- Wall Street Journal ""UC-Berkeley law school dean Chemerinsky (A Momentous Year in the Supreme Court) is a prolific critic of the U.S. legal system. His timely book examines the flaws in the Constitution that he blames for the nation’s current political dysfunction. VERDICT: Chemerinsky’s expertise enhances this examination of the Constitution and benefits readers concerned about the current state of U.S. politics."" -- Thomas Karel - Library Journal ""Dean Erwin Chemerinsky makes crystal clear how original defects in the U.S. Constitution have combined with judicial decisions to cement minority rule rather than democracy. As a result, majority-backed gun control, reproductive rights, and remedies for racial inequality are nonstarters. This book offers specific reforms that could be adopted even within the current framework. . . . No Democracy Lasts Forever is must-reading for anyone who cares about this nation and its future."" -- Martha Minow, former dean, Harvard Law School ""When one of the country’s most distinguished and sober-minded legal scholars argues that the Constitution imperils democracy, Americans should take note. When he further argues that the Constitution is pushing us to the brink of secession, Americans should take action. Erwin Chemerinsky’s No Democracy Lasts Forever offers not only a powerful indictment of the U.S. constitutional system but also a clarifying call to remake our supreme law before it’s too late."" -- David Pozen, Charles Keller Beekman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School ""Erwin Chemerinsky’s piercing diagnosis of the state of American democracy centers the U.S. Constitution as the protagonist in the story of its unraveling and dares us to reimagine the document’s core principles and embrace a revolutionary refounding of our country. . . . His audacious blueprint for a constitutional convention merits contemplation by anyone invested in the future of the United States—which should be all of us."" -- Janai S. Nelson, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund ""Magnificent as the Constitution is, argues Erwin Chemerinsky, it also has great flaws that ultimately may bring about the collapse of the American experiment...No Democracy Lasts Forever is a powerful and profound work of scholarship and reasoning that raises questions worth the attention of all thinking Americans."" -- Ellis Cose, author of Race and Reckoning