A Constitution for the Common Good

Contents


Acknowledgements 6


Preface to the Second Edition 9


Introduction 13


Chapter One Does the Constitution still matter? 21


i Independence, Democracy and the Constitution 23
ii Independence, Sovereignty and Folkric 27
iii The Constitutional Debate before the Independence Referendum 29
iv Constitutionalism without Independence? 36
a A Federal United Kingdom 39
b A New Treaty of Union 45
c Home Rule 47


Chapter Two How can Constitutions promote the common good? 52


i The Common Good as the Purpose of the State 53
ii What is the Common Good? 58
iii Common Good, Pluralism and Pre-commitment 61
iv Political Liberty as a Common Good 65


Chapter Three How prescriptive should the Constitution be? 67


i The Case for Procedural Constitutionalism 67
ii The Limits of Prescriptive Constitutionalism 80
iii The Relationship between Procedural and Prescriptive Elements 84


Chapter Four How could the Constitution strengthen democracy? 93


i Direct Democracy 95
ii Representation and Inclusiveness 104
iii Second Chamber: Senate or Tribunate? 117
iv Local Democracy 124
v Democratising Parties 127


Chapter Five How can the Constitution promote good governance and accountability? 131


i Parliamentary Scrutiny and Fourth Branch Institutions 131
ii Recall and Popular Dissolution 139
iii Prime Ministerial Term Limits 143
iv Guarding the Guardians: Supervision of the Military and Security Services 146


Chapter Six How can the Constitution reflect our values and identities? 152


i The Preamble and Para-Consitutional Covenants 152
ii Religion and State 159
iii Monarchy and National Identity 170


Chapter Seven How can the Constitution help us to achieve social justice, tackle poverty and reduce inequality? 177


i Social and Economic Rights 177
ii Judicial or Political Enforcement 181
iii Beyond Rights: Empowering the People 184


Chapter Eight How can the Constitution promote public ethics? 187


i The need for Good Citizenship 188
ii Education for Citizenship 191
iii Principles of Public Life and Codes of Conduct 194
iv Public Honours 199


Chapter Nine How can we build a new constitutional settlement? 201


i Does process matter? 201
ii Stages of the process 208
iii Possible next steps 213


Appendices 219


Appendix A A Constitution for an Independent Scotland 221
Appendix B 'A New Treaty of Union' 270
Appendix C A Home Rule and Full Fiscal Autonomy Settlement for Scotland 277
Appendix D A Constitution for a Federal United Kingdom 284


Endnotes 325