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BOOK REVIEW FROM "AMENDING AMERICA" (Times Books: 1993)by Richard Bernstein (with Jerome Agel)pp. 237-8: "In 1992 as this book was nearing completion, Barry Krusch publishedwhat may well be the most thoughtful and thorough reframing of theConstitution yet attempted. His study, THE 21ST CENTURY CONSTITUTION: ANEW AMERICA FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM, is the first proposed rewriting of theConstitution to take account of the twentieth-century revolutions ininformation and communications technologies; it is also noteworthy forits intellectual grounding in the American Revolution's series ofexperiments in government.Krusch, a 34-year-old computer consultant living in New York City,began his labors in 1987, prompted by the commemoration of theConstitution's bicentennial. Struck by the contrast between thepolitical creativity of the Revolutionary generation and the increasingineffectiveness of their modern counterparts, Krusch pursued twocomplementary lines of research. He steeped himself in the primarysources produced by the framing and ratification of the Constitution in1787-1788, and he traced the divergences between the Constitution aswritten and the Constitution as administered (the "EmpiricalConstitution"). In 1990, Krusch opened a file on rewriting theConstitution on GENIE, a national computer bulletin board. He posteddraft revisions of selected constitutional provisions and solicitedcomments from other users of GENIE, using the accumulating drafts andcomments as the raw material for his first comprehensive presentation ofa clause-by-clause revision of the Constitution.Four major themes shape Krusch's proposals. First, emphasizing thevital role that access to information must play in democraticgovernance, he proposes that modern information and communicationstechnologies be the core of a new constitutional framework.Technological constitutionalism of this type, he maintains, could makeit possible for all Americans to take part in government. Second, heseeks to close the gap between the written Constitution and theEmpirical Constitution, so that divergences between theory and practicein constitutional government no longer would sap the legitimacy of theconstitutional system. Third, Krusch urges the reworking ofconstitutional doctrines of separation of powers and checks andbalances, and the recasting of key institutions such as the Senate, toimprove government's responsiveness and efficiency while incorporatingadded protections for individual rights. Fourth, Krusch stresses thedangers to democracy posed by professional politicians and the majorpolitical parties and the need to restore ordinary citizens as the truesources of sovereign power. His proposals therefore would, for example,exclude members of the major parties from holding federal legislative,executive, or judicial posts.Krusch's plan of revision differs in several notable ways from allprevious attempts to rewrite the Constitution. His plan is distinct fromthe parliamentary tradition (though it shares that tradition'sdissatisfaction with separation of powers) and from Tugwell's executive-centered model (though, like Tugwell, Krusch seeks to bridge the gapbetween the theoretical and actual operation of American government).While retaining the structure and much of the original language of the1787 Constitution, Krusch hopes to construct a form of government inwhich ordinary citizens retain and exercise power to set national goalsand objectives and to monitor effectively the doings of their electedand appointed officials. Finally, thanks to his familiarity with modern
 
computer technology, Krusch has helped to advance the theory ofelectronic governance beyond the model of the 'electronic town hall'familiar to most Americans from the tantalizing 1992 Presidentialinitiative of H. Ross Perot." ============================================================================== THE21STCENTURYCONSTITUTION BARRY KRUSCH STANHOPE PRESSPOB 1177New York, New York 10163 TEMPORARY E-MAIL ADDRESS: bakhc@cunyvm.cuny.edu Note: Due to my busy schedule, I log on infrequently to thismainframe, so you might be better off sending comments via "snail-mail"if you don't get a reply within a week. This ASCII edition contains virtually all of the complete text of the300 page book THE 21ST CENTURY CONSTITUTION originally published in1992, minus footnotes and certain text in the 1787 Constitution. Italso incorporates changes to THE 21ST CENTURY CONSTITUTION made by theauthor, which supersede the text of the 1992 edition. ASCII Electronic Copyright (c) 1994 by Barry KruschThis document may be re-transmitted by any person, group, ororganization to any other person, group, or organization in ASCIIELECTRONIC form via any electronic mode or media, including modem,storage on a BBS server, CD-ROM distribution, DAT, Syquest, E-Mail,Ethernet, FTP, ISDN, floppy disc, or any other electronic mode oftransmission without financial compensation to Stanhope Press or BarryKrusch, provided that no words are added, substituted, rearranged,omitted or otherwise altered, other than for exclusively personal use,and that no hard copies are made, other than for exclusively personaluse. This right does not extend to documents saved in a format otherthan ASCII. Both copyright notices must appear at the beginning of thisdocument. This ASCII version is 1.1. It was completed and first prepared forposting on April 15, 1994. Hard-Copy Copyright (c) 1992 by Barry Krusch All rights reserved. Except in the case of quotations embodied incritical articles and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced inany form without written permission from the publisher. Inquiries shouldbe addressed to Stanhope Press, P.O. Box 1177, Grand Central Station,NY, NY 10163-1177. Phone orders: 800-345-0096.LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA 
 
Krusch, Barry 1958 - Includes bibliographical references and index. The 21st Century Constitution 1. Constitution -- United States -- Proposals to Amend Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 92-80931 NOTES TO THE READER The heart of this book (the text of the new constitution) begins withChapter Two. To go to some of the key changes to the 1787 Constitution,select the following text (without selecting the paragraph returnsymbol), copy it to your clipboard (if you have one), and then paste theselection into your "find" or "search" field. KEY WORDS/PHRASES IN THE 21ST CENTURY CONSTITUTION abide by the regulationsalternatealternative points of viewamendments shall be incorporatedas the national interest requiresauditorauthorization of Congresschosen every yearcompetent counselconstituent requestsconstitutional supplementdefined by statutedelegate its authoritydemocratic form of governmentdesignate public policydiscrepantdisproportionateelections commissionelectoral collegeelectronic interceptionelectronic post officeeligible to the officeeligible to voteequal access regulationsethics legislationevaluation of zeroevaluationsextended by the peoplefederal academyfederal committeefinancially disadvantagedgreater than or equal togross national producthe or shehypothetical exampleimpeachmentjusticiabilitylegislative committee
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