Idealism and Self-Authorship: A Note on Paul Kahn’s Making the Case

Abstract

The article examines the notion of self-authorship through judicial review in Paul Kahn’s book Making the Case. It argues that, for Kahn, the primary function of the court is to bring the people to see the law as something they have themselves authored, and that we can only open up this dimension to study by looking at the universe of meaning to which the law makes reference. The article ties Kahn’s cultural analysis of law back to his earlier work on body politics in a liberal polity. It shows how law and culture intertwine in Kahn’s work, law being the same time a limit to and a product of culture. Finally, the article problematizes Kahn’s use of culture as a means to destabilize liberalism. It argues that, despite his avowed concern with liberty (which self-authorship translates into constitutional parlance), his efforts to transcend liberal theory lead him to adopt basic political conceptions that leave no room for liberty in political life.