The American Creed and the Constitutional Order

Abstract

Liberal democracy faces an existential threat in the United State today. Political polarization and the rise of far-right extremism both raise questions about the institutional structure’s continuing viability. For the first time in recent memory, Americans are questioning whether the nation might ultimately become undemocratic, illiberal, or both. This essay explores a neglected cause of this political crisis and, more importantly, offers a possible long-term path forward.

The underlying roots of the nation’s political crisis lie in the institutional structure of liberal democracy itself. That core structure inevitably generates deep anxieties and grievances, concerns that are intensified by two additional factors –the promulgation of illiberal ideologies, which validate the sense of grievance, and the use of modern propaganda techniques, which spread ideologically-infused messages widely and effectively. Grievances, ideologies and propaganda combine to generate a cycle of radicalization that drives citizens towards extremism.

The only real solution to this problem is, perhaps counterintuitively, an ideological one. Only a compelling ideology of liberal democracy can ameliorate the sense of grievance, counter the illiberal ideologies, and inoculate the public against propaganda. The endeavor to identify such an ideology inevitably leads to the American Creed, the core ideals that were thought to underlie the American experiment. But as this essay argues, the American Creed as conventionally understood is too vague and conflicted to offer a solid foundation upon which to build America’s complex institutional structure.

This paper concludes by articulating a set of requirements that a compelling ideology must possess. The effort serves as a preliminary step towards the articulation of a new and more compelling American Creed. 

Keywords: Public Law, Constitutional Law, Ideology, Civil Rights, Political Philosophy