About this item
After the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked, "Well, Doctor, what have we got - a Republic or a Monarchy?" Franklin's response: "A Republic - if you can keep it."This book argues: we couldn't keep it.A true republic privileges the common interest above the special interests. To do this, our Constitution established an elaborate system of checks and balances that separates power among the branches of government, and places them in conflict with one another. The Framers believed that this would keep grasping, covetous factions from acquiring enough power to dominate government. Instead, only the people would rule.Proper institutional design is essential to this system. Each branch must manage responsibly the powers it is granted, as well as rebuke the other branches when they go astray.
About the Author
Jay Cost is a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist at National Review Online, a contributing editorial writer to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and a contributing editor at the Weekly Standard. He is the author of three books, most recently THE PRICE OF GREATNESS: JAMES MADISON, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, AND THE CREATION OF AMERICAN OLIGARCHY.He earned a B.A. with High Distinction in government and history from the University of Virginia, and a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago.
