Toward a genealogy of the new constitutionalism

When evidence isn’t enough: Ideological, institutional, and interest-based constraints on achieving trade and health policy coherence

“…Accordingly, constitutionalism enshrines these rights and protects them against future political regime changes that may result is a less-friendly investment climate, which would negatively impact economic growth (Hirschl, 2004). Critical historical investigations of US constitutionalism on the other hand suggest that this model secured a particular type of liberty and property rights for a particular class of people and entrenched the dynamics of master over slave, capital over labour and colonist over native (Di Muzio, 2014). The US constitution safeguarded the right to accumulate wealth beyond one’s needs and cemented those rights against future challenges from an increasingly radicalised and politically inspired majority (Di Muzio, 2014).…”

“…Critical historical investigations of US constitutionalism on the other hand suggest that this model secured a particular type of liberty and property rights for a particular class of people and entrenched the dynamics of master over slave, capital over labour and colonist over native (Di Muzio, 2014). The US constitution safeguarded the right to accumulate wealth beyond one’s needs and cemented those rights against future challenges from an increasingly radicalised and politically inspired majority (Di Muzio, 2014). Indeed, the transition to constitutionalism has been argued as a way to protect states against the tyranny of majority rule and to insulate policymaking from democratic, majoritarian politics shielded behind beliefs of an impartial judiciary (Dworkin, 1990).…”

Capital as power and the corporatisation of education

“…First, the state is subject to the same logic of capitalisation and private accumulation as corporations through the state's national debt which is owned by private lending institutions and generates earnings for their shareholders. Put shortly, the state is a capitalised entity and the claims for future income streams generated by the entity (in the state's case, by collecting taxes, fees and fines) can be bought and sold, and are owned by a small minority of humanity (Di Muzio 2015a, 2015b; see also Hager, 2014). Second, corporate practices in public space, including education, are mainly advanced through national and international policy, as demonstrated, among others, by Robertson, Bonal and Dale (2002).…”

“…Buying shares in a company, or capitalising it, translates then to owning a claim to a discounted future income stream. An emerging theory of political economy, called capital as power, understands capitalisation by dominant owners as the central ritual of contemporary capitalism that is intertwined at all levels of society from individuals (banks are effectively capitalising an individual's capacity to generate an income stream when giving out a loan) and companies to sovereign states (through their privately owned national debt) (for a detailed discussion, see Di Muzio, 2015a, 2015bNitzan and Bichler, 2009). …”

“…(Di Muzio, 2015b, p. 38) In other words, the value of capital is not determined by production alone, as mainstream neoclassical economics or Marxist political economy would suggest. Nitzan and Bichler, 2009;Di Muzio 2015a, 2015b.…”