Bruce Ackerman
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Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale, and the author of fifteen books that have had a broad influence in political philosophy, constitutional law, and public policy. His major works include Social Justice in the Liberal State and his multivolume constitutional history, We the People. His most recent books are The Failure of the Founding Fathers (2005) and Before the Next Attack (2006). His book, The Stakeholder Society (with Anne Alstott), served as a basis for Tony Blair’s recent introduction of child investment accounts in the United Kingdom. Professor Ackerman is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a Commander of the French Order of Merit, and the recipient of the American Philosophical Society’s Henry Phillips Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Jurisprudence. He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his LL.B from Yale Law School.

Blog Entries by Bruce Ackerman

Elect-Your-Match: Computer-Dating Hits the Presidential Election!

(31) Comments | Posted May 3, 2012 | 8:25 AM

Co-authored by Danieli Evans

Millions of Americans use on-line dating sites to search for their perfect mate: Are you a hiker or a homebody? A sports fanatic or a poetry fiend?

After telling the dating service who you're looking for and what you're like, its computer matching program searches its...

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Nixon In Iran?

(144) Comments | Posted March 19, 2012 | 8:41 AM

Where is Richard Nixon when we really need him?

The time is ripe for rearranging the diplomatic chess board -- but this time, Western leaders must entice Tehran, not Beijing, into a new relationship.

The present confrontational strategy isn't working. Even if Netanyahu's threatened airstrike successfully delays Iran's nuclear program,...

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How Congress Can Overrule Citizens United

(187) Comments | Posted February 8, 2012 | 2:11 PM

Refusing to give his Republican opponents an edge, President Obama has just blessed a Super PAC to rally his own billionaires for election year combat. While it's only natural for him to maintain parity, the president should also call upon Congress to pass a statute that forces the Supreme Court...

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Occupying the First Amendment

(285) Comments | Posted October 21, 2011 | 8:51 AM

Whatever else it accomplishes, Occupy Wall Street is revealing distortions in our current understanding of the First Amendment. In recent decisions, the Supreme Court has protected Wall Street's constitutional right to pour millions into political campaigns. But as presently construed, the First Amendment isn't an obstacle when it comes to...

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Democratizing Wall Street?

(152) Comments | Posted October 12, 2011 | 9:59 AM

With Beltway Democrats flirting with millionaire taxes, Occupy Wall Street is raising a more existential question: the economic crisis is crushing the hopes of the younger generation. Unemployment in 2010 was 9.6%, but it was 15.5% for Americans between 20-24 and 10.9% for those between 25-29. Astonishingly, people...

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Class Warfare?

(1044) Comments | Posted September 27, 2011 | 9:07 AM

President Obama's "millionaire tax" has generated two sound-bite replies. Not only is he engaging in "class warfare," but he is indulging in sheer political posturing -- there simply isn't a lot of money to be raised by targeting the super-rich. Both charges are mistaken.

Taxation aimed at the rich doesn't...

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It's Not Up to the President to Impose a No-Fly Zone Over Libya

(134) Comments | Posted March 9, 2011 | 10:05 AM

As Gaddafi continues to slaughter civilians, America is fast approaching its own moment of truth. Despite its antiseptic label, imposing a "no-fly" zone is an act of war. As Secretary Gates explained last week, it "begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses." The president has gathered...

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What Obama Should Say

(37) Comments | Posted August 30, 2010 | 5:48 PM

A speech from the Oval Office brings out the worst in presidents, tempting them to present themselves as the ultimate deciders on matters of war and peace. It won't be easy, then, for President Obama to rise above theatrics and confront the dark legacy of executive unilateralism left by the...

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