Why Do We Need a Constitution?

Any large, diverse group of people who must live together needs answers to a basic set of questions: how do we cooperate peacefully despite our differences, who gets to decide what the rules are, what stops those in power from abusing it, can our shared document express what we hope to become as a society, and does agreeing to live under common rules give us a shared identity at all? A constitution is society's answer to all of these questions at once. The five sections that follow trace five distinct functions a constitution performs — coordination and assurance, specifying decision-making power, …