Saturday, September 23, 2023
supreme leader: democratic constitutionality
I want to share the letter I wrote to the Editor of The Atlantic magazine where I praised his article on General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose explicit “constitutional patriotism” expresses that strict fidelity to democratic constitutionality protects against autocratic exploitation of military power.
There is “supreme leader”ship located in (distributed through) the three estates of (1) jurisprudential “divining” of implicit lawfulness, which yields to (2) Congressional action, which yields to (3) valid electoral legitimation.
Dear Mr. Goldberg,
Your extensive article on General Milley is so outstanding in so many regards! But one dimension is especially important to this philosophical subscriber of many years: the sense of constitutional patriotism which General Milley exemplifies.
We usually regard constitutionality as a political principle, rather than a military principle. But General Milley demonstrates exactly what the post-1945 world order is about, and this importance cannot be overestimated, relative to the dangers of autocracies and dictatorships.
Essentially important—which political thinkers may miss—is that the form of institutional credibility, distinct from substance (which may change due to amendment and jurisprudential precedent) is the nature of constitutionality. One may be rightly against Second Amendment Originalism, but that's within the sacred institution of constitutionality and the reign of fair procedure for deliberative amendment (and—one should add—in light of public education which causes amendment to be truly democratic).
We talk of a "rules-based international order," but that's essentially a principle-based international order: The rules may change, but only (at best) by principle of fair procedure. The procedural nature of constitutional government and deliberative change is the "machine" of fair human progress, apart from the substantive issues which may be addressed by fair procedure.
General Milley's dramatically committed fidelity to constitutionality exemplifies why there has been the notion of American Exceptionalism for the sake of collaborative global political leadership: The principled and deliberative character of due process and fair procedure pertains to the fairness and stability of global collaboration which is the only way to keep the world out of war—and the only way to effectively address planetary issues resisted by corporate greed and autocratic avarice.
A leading political philosopher, Jürgen Habermas, has developed and advocated for decades a conception of democracy as "constitutional patriotism." Academic writers have addressed this as a political principle, not as a military principle. But Habermas's work—like no other—entails that constitutional patriotism is the best conception of military authority.
Habermas is still alive, albeit 94 years old. A proper appreciation of what philosophy can contribute to humanity—moral and demographic—would be to highlight for U.S. readers the career of Habermas, now while he's alive, rather than as obituary.
Indeed, the North Atlantic Alliance hinges on the U.S.-German alliance whose best philosophical understanding has been expressed by Habermas's life-long endeavor to articulate a trans-Atlantic (globally applicable) comprehension of democratic reason.
The idea of the United Nations was implicitly that a constitutional patriotism could prevail among nations—notwithstanding the impotence caused by a Security Council that has apparently no way to remove a permanent member that is a war criminal.
The principle of constitutional patriotism stands as the great idea of humanity which has kept the world out of major war for 75 years. The value of constitutional patriotism is among the greatest ideas and achievements of humanity.
General Milley deserves the appreciation which you've displayed. But the notion of constitutional patriotism also deserves appreciation. Though General Milley exemplifies how the "credibility of the institution"—that concept—works for the sustainability of Our humanity, one conception is supreme leader: authentically constitutional authority.
