City Journal Audio Reclaiming Liberty & Equality: What the Founders Got Right—and What We Forgot (with Professor Robert George)
Mar 25, 2026
Robert P. George, Princeton jurisprudence professor and director of the James Madison Program, joins to unpack the Founders' design for limited government. He discusses Madison’s realism about human nature and how structural checks, separation of powers, and federalism constrain factions. They also explore the proper roles of courts, Congress, universities, and civic education in sustaining liberty and equal dignity.
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Constitution As Structural Constraints On Power
- The Constitution is primarily a system of structural constraints designed to prevent unaccountable power.
- Robert P. George explains Madison designed separated and divided powers so each branch and level checks others to guard liberty from factions.
Limits Matter More Than A Written Bill Of Rights
- Rights listed in a bill can be meaningless without limits on government power.
- George recounts Justice Scalia's Soviet Constitution example to show why structural limits matter more than paper guarantees.
Insist Congress Actually Legislates
- Reclaim legislative authority by insisting Congress exercise the "all legislative powers" the Constitution grants.
- George urges opposition to executive orders, agency rulemaking, and judicial lawmaking that displace Congress's role.