31 Aug How does Kesler use his defense of the Constitutional order to advocate for a robust executive branch of government?
In his paper, Kesler refers to Wilsons argument that government should not be viewed in the 18th century conception of the framers as a Newtonian system in which the desire for power in each part of government could be kept in check by the same desire for power in other parts of government (much as planets are kept in their respective orbits by the force of gravity) but rather that government should be viewed as an organism that, in the Darwinian sense, adapts and evolves, and whose parts need to fit together in one coordinated piece rather than as competing components. Kesler argues against the Wilsonian approach positing, in the final paragraphs of his article, that a good government, as embodied in the Constitutional order, must secure private rights and the public good, rather than simply obeying the majoritys will (Kesler, 2016).
- How does Kesler use his defense of the Constitutional order to advocate for a robust executive branch of government?
- In which ways does he argue that the Progressive/Wilsonian approach would change the role of the executive branch?
- Do you agree with Keslers argument that the United States has already moved some distance from the Constitutional system envisioned by the Framers to a system of government more in keeping with the Progressive/Wilsonian approach? Why or why not?
