Constitutional Coup: Privatization's Threat to the American Republic (Introduction)

Abstract

Americans have a love-hate relationship with government. Rejecting bureaucracy — but not the goods and services the welfare state provides — Americans are insisting government be made to run like a business. But, as Constitutional Coup shows, separating the state from its public servants, practices, and institutions does violence to our Constitution, and threatens the health, stability, and legitimacy of the Republic.

Weaving together dramatic accounts of the Framers’ original governing scheme, FDR’s New Deal, LBJ’s Great Society, Ronald Reagan’s Privatization Revolution, and — now — the instant Trumpist movement to run government like a business, Constitutional Coup tells the story of the rise, maturation, and present-day demise of American constitutional government.

Casting privatization as an existential threat, Constitutional Coup explains how the fusion of politics and profits commercializes and destabilizes government, enriching big businesses cozy with the White House while emboldening CEO-style presidents to act imperially, with insufficient regard for bureaucratic expertise, public input, or the rule of law.

Keywords: Separation of Powers; Constitutional Law; Administrative Law; Bureaucracy; Civil Service; Privatization; Businesslike Government; Neoliberalism; Presidential Power; Welfare State; Running Government like a Business

JEL Classification: H11, H50, L32, L33, L38, L50