An argument open to all : reading the federalist in the 21st century

From one of America's most distinguished constitutional scholars, an intriguing exploration of America's most famous political tract and its relevance to today's politics

In An Argument Open to All, renowned legal scholar Sanford Levinson takes a novel approach to what is perhaps America's most famous political tract. Rather than concern himself with the authors as historical figures, or how The Federalist helps us understand the original intent of the framers of the Constitution, Levinson examines each essay for the political wisdom it can offer us today. In eighty-five short essays, each keyed to a different essay in The Federalist, he considers such questions as whether present generations can rethink their constitutional arrangements; how much effort we should exert to preserve America's traditional culture; and whether The Federalist 's arguments even suggest the desirability of world government.

• Publius, Our Contemporary: An Introduction p. 1
• Part 1 Something Must Be Done to Save the Union p. 7
• Federalist 1 On the Frequency of "Reflection and Choice" by "We the People" p. 9
• Federalist 2 How Much Pluribus within a Single Unum? p. 12
• Federalist 3 Federalism and Foreign Policy p. 17
• Federalist 4 "Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force" p. 20
• Federalist 5 In Union There Is Strength p. 23
• Federalist 6 Humankind as "Ambitious, Vindictive, and Rapacious" p. 26
• Federalist 7 Endless Sources of Conflict (and War), Even within the United States p. 29
• Federalist 8 On the Rise of a Militarized State p. 33
• Part 2 Bigger Is, in Fact, Better p. 37
• Federalist 9 The New (and Improved) Science of Politics p. 39
• Federalist 10 Can Moral or Religious Education Overcome Natural Tendencies toward Faction? p. 42
• Federalist 11 It's a Harsh and Competitive World Out There p. 45
• Federalist 12 Commerce and State Finance p. 47
• Federalist 13 Economies of Scale p. 50
• Federalist 14 Publius and Permanent Revolution (or, at Least, Improvement) p. 52
• Part 3 Why "Confederation" Is Both "Odious" and an "Imbecility" p. 55
• Federalist 15 "The Imbecility of Our Government" p. 57
• Federalist 16 Why Confederation Is "Odious" and a National Government Is Necessary p. 60
• Federalist 17 The Political Sociology of Federalism (Part1) p. 64
• Federalist 18 Ancient History as Caution p. 68
• Federalist 19 The Defects of Multiple Sovereigns p. 70
• Federalist 20 The dutch Provide the Final Cautionary Example p. 72
• Federalist 21 On the Importance of Sanctions p. 75
• Federalist 22 Publius as Majoritarian p. 78
• Part 4 The Sate and the Machinery of Death (or, at Least, Defense): Standing Armies p. 83
• Federalist 23 "Common Defence" and (Un)limited Government p. 85
• Federalist 24 The Inconvenience of Militia Service p. 88
• Federalist 25 More on the Merits of Standing Armies p. 91
• Federalist 26 In Whom do We Place Our "Confidence"? p. 93
• Federalist 27 Further Reflections on Confidence in the National Government p. 98
• Federalist 28 The Necessity of force p. 101
• Federalist 29 "Concerning the Militia" p. 104
• Part 5 How Does One Pay for the Services Supplied by the Union? On Taxes and the Taxing Power p. 109
• Federalist 30 First Death, Now Taxes p. 111
• Federalist 31 On the Inutility of Specified Limits p. 114
• Federalist 32 Taxation and Constitutional Interpretation p. 116
• Federalist 33 The Irrelevance of Text p. 119
• Federalist 34 Drafting a Constitition with the Long View in Mind p. 123
• Federalist 35 Who Will Allocate the Tax Burdens, and Why Should we Trust Them? p. 126
• Federalist 36 State and National Officials as Partners or Adversaries p. 129
• Part 6 To Err Is Human (and Perfect Clarity is Chimerical) p. 133
• Federalist 37 Human (and Even Divine) Fallibility and Written Constitutions p. 135
• Federalist 38 The Best as the Enemy of the Good - and the Necessary p. 139
• Federalist 39 Federalism, "Compact," and the Specter of Secession p. 141
• Part 7 On the Limits of the "Rule of Law" p. 147
• Federalist 40 Exigency and Fidelity to Law p. 149
• Federalist 41 Existential Dangers and Legal Fidelity p. 152
• Part 8 National and State Prerogatives (and Maintenance of a Federal Political Order) p. 155
• Federalist 42 Who Should Control Naturalization (and Immigration)? p. 157
• Federalist 43 Controlling Internal Insurrections p. 160
• Federalist 44 Confidence, Money, and Debt p. 163
• Federalist 45 Evaluating the Constitutional Order p. 168
• Federalist 46 The Political Sociology of Federalism (Part II) p. 171
• Federalist 47 Is "Separation of Powers" a Helpful Maxim? p. 175
• Federalist 48 "Parchment Barriers" p. 178
• Part 9 Veneration versus Reflection p. 181
• Federalist 49 "Veneration" versus "Reflection and Choice" p. 183
• Federalist 50 Maintaining Constitutional Fidelity p. 186
• Part 10 Institutional Design: The Legislature p. 189
• Federalist 51 Designing Institutions for Devils (Who Organize Themselves into Political Parties) p. 191
• Federalist 52 Suffrage and Representation p. 196
• Federalist 53 For How Long Should Representatives Serve? p. 200
• Federalist 54 Who Counts as Worthy of Representation, and for How Much? p. 203
• Federalist 55 Does Size Matter, and If Not, What Does? p. 206
• Federalist 56 "Local Knowledge" and Representation p. 211
• Federalist 57 Does "Representation" Mean "Mirroring"? p. 213
• Federalist 58 Does the "Iron Law of Oligarchy" Apply to the House of Representatives? p. 217
• Part 11 Who Should Be in Charge of Elections? p. 221
• Federalist 59 The Death of State Autonomy? p. 223
• Federalist 60 Manipulating Elections p. 225
• Federalist 61 What Is a Propitious Time to Choose Representatives? p. 227
• Part 12 On the Senate p. 231
• Federalist 62 On the "Lesser Evil" p. 233
• Federalist 63 Let Sleeping Sovereigns Lie? p. 238
• Federalist 64 The Senate's Superior Wisdom on Foreign Affairs p. 241
• Federalist 65 The Senate's Confirmation and Impeachment Powers p. 245
• Federalist 66 The Past Is a Different Country p. 249
• Part 13 On the Executive p. 253
• Federalist 67 A Monarchical President? p. 255
• Federalist 68 Selecting the President p. 260
• Federalist 69 Comparing the President with the/a King p. 265
• Federalist 70 Unity in the Executive p. 269
• Federalist 71 How Long Should a President Be Able to Serve? p. 272
• Federalist 72 You Can't Get Too Much of a Good President p. 275
• Federalist 73 Why the Presidential Veto? p. 277
• Federalist 74 The Presidential Prerogative to Pardon p. 281
• Federalist 75 The Complicated Process of Making or Refusing to Make Treaties p. 285
• Federalist 76 The Appointment Power p. 288
• Federalist 77 The Constitutional Bona Fides of a Unilateral Authority to Remove Executive Branch Officials p. 292
• Part 14 The Roles of the National Judiciary p. 297
• Federalist 78 Is the Judiciary "Above Politics"? p. 299
• Federalist 79 Fixed Salaries- but What about Inflation? p. 304
• Federalist 80 The Importance of Federal Courts p. 307
• Federalist 81 Disciplining Judges by Threatening Impeachment? p. 310
• Federalist 82 A Judiciary for the Whole p. 313
• Federalist 83 Trial by Jury p. 316
• Part 15 Reprise: The Importance of Institutions and the Necessity of a Strong National Government p. 321
• Federalist 84 The Limited Importance-If Not Outright Dangers-of Bills of Rights p. 323
• Federalist 85 "A Nation [with] a National Government" p. 327
• Acknowledgments p. 331
• Notes p. 335
• Index p. 345