BRENNAN AND DEMOCRACY BRENNAN AND DEMOCRACY Frank I. Michelman PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY Copyright(cid:211) 1999byPrincetonUniversityPress PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet, Princeton,NewJersey08540 IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress, Chichester,WestSussex AllRightsReserved. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Michelman,FrankI.,1936– Brennananddemocracy/FrankI.Michelman p. cm. Includesindex. ISBN0-691-00715-2(cl:alk.paper) 1. Brennan,WilliamJ.(WilliamJoseph),1906— 2. Constitutionallaw—UnitedStates.I. Title. KF8745.B68M53 1999 342.73—dc21 98-43565 CIP ThisbookhasbeencomposedinJanson Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirements ofANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992(R1997)(PermanenceofPaper) http://pup.princeton.edu 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica For the Justice — the Boss — Bill — and All Who Loved Him Contents Preface and Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1. Brennan’s Constitutional Democracy 3 Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory 3 The Paradox of Constitutional Democracy 4 Democracy, Individuals, and Self-Government 11 The Substantive Conception of Democracy 16 A Paradox of Democratic Commitment 33 The Procedural Conception of Democracy 34 The Remaining Possibility for Self-Government in Politics 51 Politics and Knowledge 54 Distrust and Democracy (Responsive Democracy with a Difference) 57 Brennan on Democracy 60 Chapter 2. Brennan’s Democratic Liberalism 63 The Judge as Political Theorist 63 Liberal Political Thought 65 Justice Brennan and Liberal “Romance” 68 Community 89 Equality, Groups, and Positive Social Rights 119 Summation: Who Is Brennan to Us? 133 Epilogue 139 Index 147