Book Forum 

# *Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People*

(Broadside Books, 2016)

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Date and Time 

April 21, 2016 12 - 1:30 PM EDT 

Location 

Hayek Auditorium 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring the author **Randy E. Barnett**, Director, Georgetown Center for the Constitution, Georgetown University Law Center; with comments by **Robert V. Percival**, Robert F. Stanton Professor of Law, University of Maryland School of Law; moderated by **Roger Pilon**, Director, Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute. 

[[![Media Name: our-republican-constitution-cover_0.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/images/our-republican-constitution-cover_0.jpg?itok=YaGYfD3O)](/sites/cato.org/files/images/our-republican-constitution-cover_0.jpg)](http://www.amazon.com/Our-Republican-Constitution-Securing-Sovereignty/dp/0062412280?tag=catoinstitute-20)

The Constitution begins with the words “We the People.” But from our earliest days there have been two competing notions of “the People,” leading to two very different constitutional visions. Those who view “We the People” collectively think popular sovereignty resides in the people as a group, which leads them to favor a democratic constitution that allows the will of the people to be expressed by majority rule. In contrast, those who think popular sovereignty resides in the people as individuals contend that a republican constitution is needed to secure the preexisting inalienable rights of “We the People,” each and every one, against abuses by the majority. In his latest book, with a foreword by George Will, Randy Barnett explains why “We the People” would greatly benefit from the renewal of our republican Constitution, and how this can be accomplished in the courts and the political arena. Please join us for a discussion of this important new book.

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