This book lays out why a return to a Madisonian conception of politics, and the constitution, is necessary in our divisive and seemingly stalemated era. Levin clearly lays out how the founders wrestled with the idea of a republic in a large and growing nation and how the constitution was structured to channel disagreement and revolve issue through the creation of large stable majorities in the legislative branch. He explains how a Progressive or Wilsonian perspective began to use impatience with the American system to warp and change politics. He does so not as an angry pugilist but as a calm analyst and thinker. He understands the problems and issues that underlie the progressive perspective but asks the reader to better understand the unintended consequences of this change and how it has led in so many ways to our current problems. He calls for a return to constitutionalism rightly understood and a patient but firm move toward reform and repair. It very much builds on his previous books in understanding the weakening of institutions and the differing approaches or understandings of American history and government. He is clearly a conservative but writes with empathy and understanding of those who differ from him. And he highlights the cultural and anthropological underpinnings of the American system and constitution. For Yuval reform must start with understanding and appreciating the constitution and working at shoring up our institutions as they were mean to be and the roles they were meant to play. That will in turn shape our culture in positive ways which will in turn strengthen our institutions. This is no "light" or easy reading but anyone who care about American governance and political life would do well to read this book. No matter your political of philosophical leanings, these are ideas that should be wrestled with and a history we should reacquaint ourselves with as we seek to build a better America.

What is unity? And is it even possible for America to achieve it? Yuval Levin defines the former and explains how to achieve the latter in American Covenant, the latest in a series of remarkable books focused on our history and present problems. Levin begins by stating what seems clear to many: we are badly divided as a nation. We differ on even the most fundamental of issues. A few live questions that show the starkness of our division: Can a man become a woman and a woman a man? Should it be legal to use coal or gas to fuel our power plants, run our cars, or fly our planes? Should the Supreme Court be an independent branch of government or, as President Biden’s threatened reforms offer, be merely another legislature? Is bearing children a conclusive good or should it be discouraged as it threatens the climate? For nine chapters Levin argues that America, divided and pluralistic though she is, can achieve unity through our Constitution. He begins by filling out the definition of what our Constitution is, paying special attention to the aspects of it that aren’t merely legal. White it does several things at once, one of its principles aims is to force us to argue and compromise with one another. Through bicameralism, Presidential veto and judicial review it requires large majorities to come together in order to pass legislation, which tends to moderate law as it gives minority factions a larger say in the outcome. Levin himself puts it more memorably: the Constitution requires that majorities broaden themselves before empowering them, and before majorities are either broadened or empowered they are restrained by other parts of the document. The Constitution was crafted with America’s history and situation firmly in mind. We are nation with factions laid over the top of a federal structure. We are not a small, more uniform nation such as Sweden or Belgium that possess one national government- the United States is a collection of semi-sovereign states that each possess many powers. With such inherent division in our national body, the Founders valued unity over action, or legislation; and when that legislation was passed, they desired large, diverse majorities to be behind it. Congress is the lead branch of the federal government. After all, it is Article One in the Constitution. Prescribing or prohibiting conduct may be the very definition of government; and “All legislative power” is granted to the Congress. Yet no institution possesses less of the people’s confidence or presents a worse aspect to the nation than our national legislature. Oddly, the vast majority of lawmaking does not occur in the Congress today but in the Executive branch through rules and regulations promulgated by hundreds of agencies. Federal judges and the Supreme Court, at least until recently, created novel rights and made law from the bench. Abortion, gay marriage, and carbon dioxide being labelled a pollutant were all policy choices dictated by the Court, not Congress. Levin writes several chapters not specifically about Congress. However, all roads wind back to that branch when he discusses how we can achieve unity through the Constitution. When discussing political parties Levin puts forth reforms to elect better legislators who are more apt to bargain and not be beholden to the extreme wings of the parties. When discussing the Executive, he spends several pages discussing the administrative state’s role as primary law-making body, a role unconstitutionally given to it by Congressional delegation. And when discussing the Supreme Court, he zeroes in on judge-made law at the expense of Congress. The Constitution’s most persistent and effective (and consequently most dangerous) critic is the progressive movement and Levin engages with them throughout the book. This is both necessary and of a piece with his plea that Americans more constructively debate one another. Essentially, Progressives since the time of Woodrow Wilson have reckoned the Constitution antiquated, a relic of a past age unfit for the modern times. They are impatient with its emphasis on assembling large majorities in order to pass legislation. Levin points to the mismatch of Progressive ideology with its love of administrative power and embrace of parliamentary-style government and the Constitution’s structure and priorities. He spends much time engaging with and refuting progressive ideas. For this is necessary: our Constitution cannot function as it’s designed under progressive ideology. This is but a small offering of what Levin has written in this work. Though only about three hundred pages long, the book is dense, packed with ideas, history, analysis, and criticism. There was much that was new to me- and all of it was interesting. Levin presents a vision of the Constitution I would wish to see made real and, within reason, it is doable. However, that would take much patient persuading. Like Levin, I’m neither optimistic nor pessimistic that this can be done