Event details

Beneath growing perceptions of democratic fragility in the United States (and elsewhere) lies a deeper problem: crucial preconditions for effective self-government are in short supply and the constitutional system itself is an obstacle to investments in four essential ingredients: education, access to reliable news, security against lethal violence, and trust in the legal and economic systems sufficient to elicit cooperation and fair play. Repeated efforts to secure a federal constitutional right to education have failed in the courts. Legal, technological, and economic developments have destroyed once vibrant newspapers and magazines and investments in local news reporting. Deaths and injuries due to guns mount as courts block reform efforts to advance human safety. And entrenchment of economic and political power—all lawful under the current rules—undermine grounds for reciprocity and trust. Yet investments and reforms could increase effective education and civic learning, reliable information sources, safety in the face of lethal violence, and greater fairness in economic and political rules. Professor Minow's lecture will examine these crucial ingredients, why they are in jeopardy, and concrete actions to help realize the promises of constitutional self-governance.

Martha Minow holds the 300th Anniversary University Professorship at Harvard University; she has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981 and served as dean for eight years (2009-2017). An expert in constitutional law and human rights, her work has focused on issues of exclusion and discrimination, legal responses to social, political, and religious conflict, and legal treatments of communications and new technologies. Her recent books include Saving the News: Why the Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech (2021); When Should Law Forgive? (2019); In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Constitutional Landmark (2010); and Partners, Not Rivals: Privatization and the Public Good (2002). Her book, A Constitution Is Not Enough: Vital Ingredients For Democracy, will be published by University of California Press in 2027. Her honors include 11 honorary degrees from institutions in three countries. She serves as chair of the board of Massachusetts public media (GBH) and co-chairs the Committee on Law, Science, and Technology for the National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering.