The Law of Freedom

The Supreme Court and Democracy

Jacob Eisler

The Supreme Court has been at the center of great upheavals in American democracy across the last seventy years. From the end of Jim Crow to the rise of wealth-dominated national campaigns, the Court has battled over if democracy is an egalitarian collaboration to serve the good of all citizens, or a competitive struggle by private interests. In The Law of Freedom, Jacob Eisler questions why the Court has the moral authority to shape democracy at all. Analyzing leading cases through the lens of philosophy and social science, Eisler demonstrates how the soul of election law is a battle between two philosophical understandings of democratic freedom and popular self-rule. This remarkable book reveals that the Court’s battle over democracy has shaped how Americans rule themselves, marking election law as the most dramatic judicial intervention in constitutional history.

Jacob Eisler is Associate Professor at the University of Southampton Law School where he focuses on democratic theory, election law, and corruption.

Advance praise

‘In this powerfully argued and beautifully clear work, Jacob Eisler gives us a framework for understanding a dilemma at the core of modern liberal democracy. Though the ‘counter-majoritarian difficulty’ is familiar, Eisler introduces the more troubling ‘counterpopular dilemma’: how can courts police democratic processes. Through a careful exposition of the ideals of election law in light of the principles of democracy, Eisler provides an essential guide to making courts safe for democracy. More importantly, he gives us a map for remaking a democracy that might live up to its ideals.’

Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School