The End of Democracy?, by Richard John Neuhaus
The End of Democracy? The Judicial Usurpation of Politics (hb,pb,288pp), by Richard John Neuhaus explores what is becoming one of the greatest controversies in American Politics, Judicial Activism. For the last 50 years judges rather than legislatures have been dictating American laws. Judicial pronouncements on abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, etc. have overstepped the traditional constitutional purview of the courts in this country. The judiciary has gone far beyond its role as strict interpreter of the constitution. "The End of Democracy" takes this issue one step further by examining a symposium conducted by the journal, "First Things". It raises the question of whether this judicial usurpation of politics has brought us to "the point where conscientious citizens can no longer give moral assent to the existing regime." This approach has brought on a firestorm of controversy even within the conservative movement, drawing commentary from the likes of William Bennett, Robert Bork and Gertrude Himmelfarb. Read the arguments on all sides of this issue. Father Neuhaus includes his own analysis of the contours and implications of the controversy. This work does not merely rail at the rise in power of the courts of the land, but deals with the implications for the individual and his obligations to a government that is, perhaps, no longer "by the people."
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