Letting Solum have the Last Word

Larry Solum and I have been having an extended debate over judicial activism and the feasability of a neoformalist approach to constitutional interpretation. We agreed by email that he would get the last word, which he has set out in a typically generous and thoughtful post that usefully contains links to the main posts in the series. What have I learned from this debate? (1) Larry Solum is a very smart and interesting guy, whose brain works in a very different way than mine (compare, e.g., our respective positions on the role of informed intuition in evalusating the scope of the feasabile set). (2) To come clean, I have been playing somewhat of a devil's advocate with respect to the question of whether we could undo decades of judicial supremacy absent a major constitutional moment. Larry's cogent feasability arguments, however, have made it even clearer that we likely would need such a moment. Until then, however, my function as a judicial conservative is to stand athwart the tracks of legal history yelling "stop." (3) Getting into an argument with Larry Solum is actually sort of pleasant; you learn something, but get treated fairly and with respect. Cool.