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John O. McGinnis is the George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law at Northwestern University. His book Accelerating Democracy was published by Princeton University Press in 2012. McGinnis is also the coauthor with Mike Rappaport of Originalism and the Good Constitution published by Harvard University Press in 2013 . He is a graduate of Harvard College, Balliol College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. He has published in leading law reviews, including the Harvard, Chicago, and Stanford Law Reviews and the Yale Law Journal, and in journals of opinion, including National Affairs and National Review.

February 20, 2020|American Revolution, French Revolution, Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, Jeremy Popkin, Self-Government

Lessons of the French Revolution

by John O. McGinnis|10 Comments

Pierre-Antoine DeMachy, Une Exécution capitale, place de la Révolution, (Wikimedia Commons)

Being wholly unschooled in any institution of representative government, the French relied on direct and violent action.

February 13, 2020|Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, Free Exercise, Political Economy, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Liberty, school choice

The Political Economy of the Free Exercise Clause

by John O. McGinnis|21 Comments

Students at a private school walk to class (Shutterstock.com)

Because of its likely rebuff to a key progressive principle, Espinoza is potentially the most significant Supreme Court case this term.

February 6, 2020|Democratic Primary, Identity Politics, Originalism, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Nominees

Why Democrats Aren’t Naming Names

by John O. McGinnis|9 Comments

November 30, 2018 - Washington, District of Columbia, U.S. - The Supreme Court Justices pose for their official group portrait in the Supreme Court on November 30, 2018 in Washington, DC Seated from left: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. Standing behind from left: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. Kevin Dietsch/Pool via CNP

The Democratic candidates offering left-wing variations of Trump's populism recognize the dangers of imitating his transparency on judicial selection.

January 30, 2020|health care, healthcare, public option, single-payer

The Public Option Leads to Government Domination of Health Care

by John O. McGinnis|12 Comments

(shutterstock.com)

The relative success of the U.S. medical system underscores the dangers of putting it under government control.

January 23, 2020|Economic growth, Facebook, Identity Politics, New York Times

The Times Reveals Its Priorities

by John O. McGinnis|7 Comments

New York Times Headquarters building in 2016 (Osugi/Shutterstock.com).

The Times is doubling down on the policies and cultural attitudes that led to the improbable victory of Donald Trump.

January 16, 2020|Classical Liberalism, Libertarianism, Mediating Institutions, Tyler Cowen

The Inadequacy of State Capacity Libertarianism

by John O. McGinnis|41 Comments

Tyler Cowen interviews Nate Silver at George Mason University in 2015. Photo courtesy of Mercatus Center

Modern libertarianism has too narrow a view of social harm and too limited a role for government in encouraging mediating institutions that ameliorate it.

January 9, 2020|Impeachment, John Roberts, Salmon Chase

Roberts Will Preside But Not Reign Over the President’s Impeachment

by John O. McGinnis|6 Comments

In this Feb. 6, 2019 file photo, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts answers questions during an appearance at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey).

The Chief Justice is a former clerk to Rehnquist, so we should look for him to tread lightly in his predecessor’s footsteps.

December 31, 2019|Classical Liberalism, Year in Review

The Waning Fortunes of Classical Liberalism

by John O. McGinnis|34 Comments

The Statue of Liberty (David Smith/Shutterstock.com)

If classical liberalism seems embattled now, its prospects are likely far worse in the next economic downturn or crisis of national security.

December 24, 2019|Homer, Hunters the Snow, momento mori, perspective, Pieter Bruegel, Renaissance

A Christmas Card Scene Encompassing the World

by John O. McGinnis|20 Comments

The Hunters in the Snow, also known as The Return of the Hunters, is a 1565 oil-on-wood painting by Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Pieter Bruegel’s "Hunters in the Snow" is one of the masterpieces of western art.

December 19, 2019|James Bradley Thayer, Judicial Restraint, Matthew Franck, Originalism

James Bradley Thayer and Judicial Restraint

by John O. McGinnis|3 Comments

Detail of the U.S. Constitution (Jack R Perry Photography/Shutterstock.com).

He may seize a few words from jurists here and there to support his version of extreme deference, but he is deaf to the jurisprudential music of the era.