The Myth of Rights: The Purposes and Limits of Constitutional Rights

What is a constitutional right? If asked, most Americans would say that it is an entitlement to act as one pleases - i.e., that rights protect autonomy. That understanding, however, is wrong; it is, indeed, The Myth of Rights. The role of constitutional rights in our society is structural. These rights restrain governmental power so as to maintain a balance between citizens and government, and an appropriately limited role for the State. Professor Bhagwatapplies a structural approach to analyze many difficult constitutional controversies, and explains why this approach illuminates these disputes in ways that an autonomy-based approach cannot.