Erwin Chemerinsky | No Democracy Lasts Forever

Video Description

Has the U.S. Constitution become a threat to American democracy? Does it need to be dramatically changed or replaced if secession is to be avoided? Join us in-person or online as Erwin Chemerinsky returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share his deeply troubled thoughts of the Constitution’s inherent flaws. The dean of the UC Berkeley law school came to the sobering conclusion that our nearly 250-year-old founding document is responsible for the crisis now facing American democracy. Chemerinsky points out that just 15 of the 11,848 amendments proposed since 1789 have passed, and he contends that the very nature of our polarization results from the Constitution’s “bad bones,” which have created a government that no longer works or has the confidence of the public. Yet he says political Armageddon can still be avoided if a new constitutional convention is empowered to replace the Constitution of 1787, much as the Founding Fathers replaced the outdated Articles of Confederation. And if that’s not possible? He has an even more radical proposal: That Americans must give serious thought to forms of secession―including a United States structured like the European Union―based on a recognition that what divides us as a country is, in fact, greater than what unites us. Photo courtesy the speaker. August 26, 2024 Speakers Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, University of California, Berkeley School of Law; Author, No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States Dr. Gloria Duffy (Moderator), Co-president & Co-Ceo, The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California 👉Join our Email List! https://www.commonwealthclub.org/email 🎉 BECOME a MEMBER: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/membership Discover the rich history of Commonwealth Club World Affairs (CCWA), the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. The product of a 2023 merger between The Commonwealth Club of California, founded in 1903, and The World Affairs Council of Northern California, founded in 1947, CCWA is dedicated to reenergizing dynamic civic space in the Bay Area by cultivating new ideas, connection and action through engaging live programs and inspiring stories. CCWA organizes weekly in-person, virtual and hybrid events covering politics, culture, society, the economy and much more. Join us as we reimagine what a public affairs forum can be in the 21st century. In addition to the videos🎥 shared here, CCWA reaches millions of listeners through its podcast🎙and weekly national radio program📻.