Skip to main content

Democracy, Law, Judges and Solitude

Some Reflections from Walden and the Lake Isle of Innisfree

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Idea of Justice in Literature

Part of the book series: Wirtschaftsethik in der globalisierten Welt ((WGW))

  • 266 Accesses

Abstract

The paper reflects upon Henry David Thoreau’s Walden; or, Life in the Woods and W.B. Yeats’ The Lake Isle of Inisfree. It aims at suggesting that the image of solitude and insulation pervading both works of literature functions as a good metaphor for the paradigm of judicial reasoning which is dominant among legal scholars, particularly among those who champion a prominent role of the judiciary in the interpretation of constitutional norms, as well as a control exercised by judges on other branches of government. This last assertion works as a methodological constraint for the paper, as I shall only be concerned with the way in which judges perform their duties in polities where judicial supremacy is the norm, i. e., where judges hold the final word in the interpretation of a constitution.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexy, R. (2005). Balancing, constitutional review, and representation. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 3(4), 572-581. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moi040

  • Alexy, R. (2014). Constitutional Rights and Proportionality. Revus, 22, 51-65. https://doi.org/10.4000/revus.2783

  • Beetham, D. (1999). Defining and Justifying Democracy. In D. Beetham, Democracy and Human Rights (pp. 1-29). Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, K., & Pevnick, R. (2013). Are There Good Procedural Objections to Judicial Review? The Journal of Politics, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022381613001084

  • Donnelly, T. (2012). Making Popular Constitutionalism Work. Wisconsin Law Review, 2012, 159-194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin, R. (1981). The Forum of Principle. New York University Law Review(56), 469-518.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin, R. (1982). Law as Interpretation. Critical Inquiry, 9(1), 179-200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisgruber, C. (2001). Constitutional Self-Government. Cambridge, Massachusetts & London: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ely, J. (1980). Democracy and Distrust. A Theory of Judicial Review. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferejohn, J., & Pasquino, P. (2002). Constitutional Courts as Deliberative Institutions: Towards an Institutional Theory of Constitutional Justice. In W. Sadurski (Ed.), Constitutional Justice: East and West (pp. 21-36). The Hague: Kluwer Law International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fish, S. (1982). Working on the Chain Gang: Interpretation in The Law and in Literary Criticism. Critical Inquiry, 9(1), 201-216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. (1996). Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy. (W. Rehg, Trans.) Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, A. (1948). The Federalist LXXXIII. In The Federalist, or The New Constitution (pp. 424-436). Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschl, R. (2004). Towards Juristocracy. The Origins and Consequences of the New Constitutionalism. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jefferson, T. (1819, September 6). Letter to Spencer Roane. Retrieved from Electronic resources from the University of Chicago Press Book Division: http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_8_18s16.html

  • Jefferson, T. (2008). The Essential Jefferson. (J. Dewey, Ed.) Mineola, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, L. (2004). Popular Constitutionalism circa 2004. California Law Review, 92, 959-1012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, L. (2004). The People Themselves. Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, L. (2007). “The Interest of the Man”: James Madison, Popular Constitutionalism, and the Theory of Deliberative Democracy. Valparaiso Law Review, 41(2), 697-754.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madison, P. o. (1789). Speech to the House of Representatives on the Removal Power of the President.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marmor, A. (2014). The Language of Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muñiz, J. (2005). Estudio preliminar. República y libertad en el pensamiento político de James Madison. In J. Madison, & J. Muñiz (Ed.), República y libertad (J. Muñiz, Trans., pp. XI- LIII). Madrid: Centro de estudios políticos y constitucionales.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1996). Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoreau, H. D. (1995). Walden; or, Life in the Woods. New York: Dover Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomkins, A. (2010). The Role of the Courts in the Political Constitution. University of Toronto Law Journal, 60, 1-22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tushnet, M. (1999). Taking the Constitution Away from the Courts. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldron, J. (1999). The Dignity of Legislation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittington, K. (2007). Political foundations of Judicial Supremacy. The Presidency, the Supreme Cout, and Constitutional Leadership in U.S. History. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zurn, C. (2007). Deliberative Democracy and The Institutions of Judicial Review. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donald Bello Hutt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hutt, D.B. (2018). Democracy, Law, Judges and Solitude. In: Kabashima, H., Liu, SI., Luetge, C., de Prada García, A. (eds) The Idea of Justice in Literature. Wirtschaftsethik in der globalisierten Welt. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-21996-3_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics