Bøger af Walter Berns

For more than half a century, Walter Berns has been a leading authority on the Constitution. This volume collects many of his most important essays on timeless constitutional and political questions.

'We say that a man can be known by the company he keeps. So I say that a nation, a people, can be known and be judged by its heroes, by whom it honors above all others.' Abraham Lincoln was the greatest of our presidents. He saved the Union, and because he saved the Union, he was able to free the slaves. But he did more than this. Without him, we might have had no reason to celebrate the bicentennial first of the Declaration of Independence and then of the Constitution. It is therefore altogether fitting that we mark the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. Part of the Bradley Lecture Series. Lincoln at Two Hundred was presented on February 9, 2009, as part of the American Enterprise Institute's Bradley Lecture Series, which aims to enrich debate in the Washington policy community through exploration of the philosophical and historical underpinnings of current controversies.

The founding principles of the United States - freedom, autonomy, individual rights, and democratic dissent- often sit in opposition to the patriotic ideals of public spirit and self-sacrifice. This paradox is tackled in this work which argues the case for patriotism.

The seven formidable essays that make up this new analysis explore the Constitution and its central place in the development of the first nation to be built on the foundation of the rights of man. Of particular interest is Berns's view of minorities under the Constitution. Overall, the book will be well received by serious students of the American political experience, but others might find it difficult going.

This distinguished constitutional theorist takes a hard look at current criminal law and the Supreme Court''s most recent decisions regarding the legality of capital punishment. Examining the penal system, capital punishment, and punishment in general, he reviews the continuing debate about the purpose of punishment for deterrence, rehabilitation, or retribution. He points out that the steady moderation of criminal law has not effected a corresponding moderation in criminal ways or improved the conditions under which men must live. He decries the "pious sentiment" of those who maintain that criminals need to be rehabilitated. He concludes that the real issue is not whether the death penalty deters crime, but that in an imperfect universe, justice demands the death penalty. Originally published by Basic Books in 1979.