6. The achievement of the Founders came at a high cost, which is not often marked.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
7. The constitution is marked with many veto points, which makes large scale change hard and leads to dangerous delays.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
8. The failure of constitution can be seen most clearly in slavery, which was bolstered by founding document in a number of ways.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
9. The 3/5ths clause gave slave owning areas disproportionate power, federalism prevented national solution, etc.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
10. More fundamental, Lockean theory under-girding founding gave slave-owners sense of rightness as property owners.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
11. In polities unblessed by the glorious constitution (British Empire, Mexico, etc) slavery ended decades before the United States.
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12. No wonder abolitionist William LLoyd Garrison said constitution was "covenant with death" and "an agreement with Hell"
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Replying to @HeerJeet
13. We see same trajectory with the social insurance: reforms that started in Europe in 1880s took 50 years longer to win in USA
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14. It took the Great Depression, which hit USA harder than most of Europe (except Germany), to create rudimentary social insurance state.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
15. Same with health care: built in England in 1940s, Canada in 1960s, still incomplete in USA.
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16. From Truman to Obama you've had presidents fighting against constitutional headwind on healthcare.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
17. So: reform is possible in USA but faces higher hurdles because of constitution, leading to time lag of decades.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
18. The problem with climate is that time lag of decades is now a much bigger problem. We don't have decades to start solving problem.
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