Are Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law Dying?

If we believe Janan Ganesh’s latest Financial Times column, America may be doomed. The column’s subtitle encapsulates the argument: “The revolt against [Trump] isn’t huge, and it isn’t about constitutional principle.” That is, the columnist argues, a large and decisive proportion of Americans don’t believe in constitutional principles that constrain the state (“Take No Comfort from America’s Trump Backlash,”May 7, 2025).

Constitutional political economy, an offshoot of the economic theory of public choice...