A Fanciful Guide for New Lawmakers

With a new Congress being sworn in later this week, it seems an opportune time to say a few words about a topic which has been on my mind for some time and which recent events have only made more relevant. Though the idea is perhaps a fanciful one, and indeed it is nearly inconceivable as a practical matter, it does give one food for thought, and that is what Blawgconomics is all about. The idea is simply the following question; if lawmakers could start from scratch, if they could scrap all existing laws, every judicial precedent, every tradition and perhaps if they could even take guidance not from the Constitution, but from moral and societal ideals of the day, what would the legal system and structure of the nation look like?

Presumably there would need to be some basis for the establishment of laws in general, so perhaps a new overarching governance document would be written. In addition to pronouns changing and something like the current Bill of Rights becoming part and parcel of the actual document itself, one might wonder how hot button structural topics such as first amendment or religious rights might be handled. Perhaps technology would be accounted for in a meaningful way that was just not possible for the Founding Fathers in their time. Maybe there would be some provisions making it easier/more possible for third parties to gain traction.

Aside from the more foundational and structural issues, one could find themselves getting a bit more creative on specific contemporary issues. Without existing legislation, norms and traditions shaping it, would the healthcare legislation have ended up differently? Would the government have the ability to pass the type of stimulus legislation is just did? Would gun rights be so sacred? Would the death penalty exist? How might abortions be handled? How would international relations be impacted? For example, would we be more isolationist as a rule?


As noted above, both in title and in text, the notions in this post are entirely fanciful for so many reasons. While it may be fun to muse over 'what could be's' and to use false assumptions to come to interesting conclusions, the Constitution is going nowhere fast and the way things have been done in Washington for generations is nearly intractable.

However, with a new Congress occupying its offices on Capitol Hill this week, perhaps it would be nice to think that the spirit of the idea could inform collective decisions in the New Year. Perhaps it is just as fanciful as some of the other ideas in this post, but maybe we could all hope for a wave of common sense to come crashing over the collective minds and hearts of those who represent us. Maybe we could take abusive lobbying out of the equation, we could remove traditions that exist simply because of themselves, we could put aside differences for difference sake. Maybe just maybe a mixed-party Congress could accomplish this in the spirit of compromise. Alas, it is sad to think that such common sense notions may be nearly as fanciful as replacing the Constitution...