The Liberty Law Forum has now posted all of the essays in a symposium that began with my essay on “How Constitutional Originalism Promotes Liberty.” I argued that originalism is likely to promote liberty more effectively than other, realistically feasible, approaches to constitutional interpretation. The symposium includes critiques of my argument by well-known conservative legal theorists Hadley Arkes and Peter Lawler, and by Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a prominent conservative commentator on constitutional law. I replied to the commentators here.
Much of the debate between the commentators and myself focuses less on the central point of my initial essay, than on some important issues related to it – most notably whether originalism and its rivals should be judged based on their consequences, or whether originalism can be justified based on considerations independent of its real-world effects. I would like to thank the commentators for their insightful contributions, and Richard Reinsch of the Liberty Law Forum for organizing this symposium.
My initial essay also resulted ina thoughtful critique by originalist legal scholar Michael Ramsey, which I responded to here.
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