A Debt Against the Living Audiobook By Ilan Wurman cover art

A Debt Against the Living

An Introduction to Originalism

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options
Buy for $17.29

Buy for $17.29

Thomas Jefferson famously wrote that the earth belongs to the living. His letter to James Madison is often quoted for the proposition that we should not be bound to the "dead hand of the past", suggesting that the constitution should, instead, be interpreted as a living, breathing document. Less well-known is Madison's response, in which he said the improvements made by the dead - including the US Constitution - form a debt against the living who benefit from them.

In this illuminating book, Ilan Wurman introduces Madison's concept of originalism to a new generation and shows how it has shaped the US Supreme Court in ways that are expected to continue, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the theory's leading proponents.

This audiobook should be listened to by anyone seeking a better understanding of originalism and its ongoing influence on the constitutional jurisprudence of the Supreme Court.

©2017 Ilan Wurman (P)2019 Ilan Wurman Politics & Government US Constitution Political Science Law Constitutions
All stars
Most relevant
Professor Wurman takes an interpretational philosophy that is often-times intentionally misunderstood and maligned by undisciplined judicial theorists and makes it easily digestible for those who are interested in actually understanding the Originalist view.

Even if you don't come out the other side a converted Originalist, the book is worth the short time investment, presenting a logical, methodical counter to the undisciplined judicial activism that runs rampant through American courts today, while simultaneously rebutting the idea that modern law is utterly bound by 18th-century social structures. Professor Wurman describes the inherent brilliance of the Constitution as a document both for change and for constraining the tyranny of the majority, and the superiority of the Originalist view for fully realizing that goal.

Highly recommended.

Incredible Introduction to Modern Originalism

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
While certainly learned, Wurman’s slavish devotion to the Framers as more correct than anyone ever before or since, his argument against non-originalists as apparent dullards who don’t know how to understand language, and most of all his refusal to engage with the intentional damage to the Constitution and its implementation done by those claiming to be originalists, makes this book hard to listen to at best. My list of complaints is longer but I can’t even devote any more time to this project.

Straw man arguments against made up antagonists

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.