Active Liberty
Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution

In ACTIVE LIBERTY, Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer demonstrates that there is a principled and distinguished alternative to "originalism" as a method for interpreting our constitution. This method, which he calls Active Liberty, avoids some of the problems that seem to be inherent to......more

Active liberty is the libery that encourages the people, as a collective, to particpate in self-governance. Breyer argues that the purpose of the Consitution was to further active liberty, so when in doubt, judges should intrepet statutes and the Consitution in light of active liberty. Lots of issue......more

Food for thought for an Originalist like me. Lucid and thought-provoking, it gives the reader valuable insight into the differences of how "liberals" and "conservatives" process the clauses of the Constitution. In his approach, Breyer for the most part is apolitical, and as a Justice has the repsonsi......more

Breyer is my favorite justice, so I'm slightly biased, but this book is really apolitical. He is only trying to explain the judicial process and the importance of interpretations of the constitution. I think a lot of people truly misunderstand the idea of 'activist judges' or the idea that judges ap......more