Constitutional Idolatry and Democracy: Challenging the Infatuation with Writtenness

Abstract

We live in times where written constitutions have a sort of 'magic aura', an enticement effect on the citizenry. In his book, Brian Christopher Jones refers to this phenomenon as 'constitutional idolatry': the overselling of the significance of written constitutions and their impacts on society. In this book review, I closely examine Jones's main arguments in the book and show how his position is not only sound but prophetic.