In this far-reaching and insightful monograph, Richard Wagner exposes the failure of the United States constitution to overcome the tyranny of the majority so feared by the Founding Fathers. Recognising that to the extent a written parchment is enforceable, it is through the construction of a self-supporting balance of private interests, Professor Wagner sketches a balance between the principles of good constitutional order and the placement of guns of self-interest necessary for the preservation of the rights to life, liberty and property. He concludes his analysis with an assessment of the prospects of converting the rent-seeking state into an entrepreneurial state self-interestedly committed to classical liberal principles of constitutional order.The author clearly demonstrates why the tyranny of the majority cannot be prevented by constitutional parchment unless the institutions of society are designed to offer complementary support to limited government and the rule of law. Parchment, Guns and Constitutional Order offers a solution designed to harness the political process to that objective.
