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Can Judges Save Us From Statism?  November 27, 2005 Review of
Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty, by
Randy E. Barnett (Princeton University Press, 2004). [This
review appears in the Journal of Libertarian Studies]  Randy
Barnett is among the world's leading libertarian academics and
lawyers, perhaps second only to Richard Epstein in influence. In
fact, Mr. Barnett has defended anarcho-capitalism in the Journal
of Libertarian Studies,[1] which makes his most recent book,
Restoring the Lost Constitution, most curious. In it, he
attempts to legitimate the United States government by arguing
that, properly understood, the US Constitution establishes
libertarianism throughout the land by both limiting the federal
government's powers and empowering the federal government to
restrain the states.  Though well-intentioned, the book is
fatally flawed. Mr. Barnett's arguments that a monopoly
government can be legitimate are unpersua