Authenticity:The Ultimate Challenge in the Quest for Lasting Constitutional Legitimacy†

Abstract

The recent upsurge of populism has prompted a wave of theoretical reflections on constitutional democracy. Echoing Max Weber’s sociology of legitimate authority, Bruce Ackerman’s Revolutionary Constitutions: Charismatic Leadership and the Rule of Law stands out from the crowd by providing an ambitious trichotomy of constitutional legitimacy—revolutionary, establishmentarian and elitist—with a focus on the revolutionary pathway. Engaging with Ackerman’s theoretical modelling of the relationship between constitutionalism and legitimate authority, I argue that the resurgence of popular sovereignty, as embodied in We the People in populist rhetoric indicates the centrality of authenticity in constitutional democracy as constitutional authenticity is underpinned by the ethics of being true to the people’s originality. Yet, with the ethics of authenticity assuming its pathological form, the focus has been shifting from making sense of the constitution to the people’s self-identification with individual politicians. The latest wave of populism crystallises the anti-ethics of authenticity in our quest for lasting constitutional legitimacy.

Do constitutional principles affect self-realization of the youth?

“…Often, the synthesis of legal and moral values acts as an obstacle to populism in political and social activities (Ming-Sung Kuo, 2021) and contributes to the sustainable development of the personality itself, as well as relationship between the individual, society, and the state.…”

“…At the same time, law is important as a necessary form of equality, freedom and justice (Nersesyants, 2001;Latham-Gambi, 2020;Stone & Weis, 2021), and civic consciousness is important as the element that forms national identity (Dani, 2018; Calliess & Van der Schyff, (eds. ), 2019; Ming-Sung Kuo, 2021); they serve as a prerequisite for multiculturalism and social responsibility. Citizens cannot be "isolated individuals" as they are "members of community and society" who are "indebted to each other" (Blair, 1996).…”