What is the benefit of a constitution, and when can it change?

Thiago Marsal Farias
2 min readFeb 11, 2022

The United States constitution is the most well-elaborated document which a group of people could have written in the modern world. A piece of paper that contains more than words, the future of one nation, which also would be copied by other countries later on. On the constitution, people ponder how to unify people, building one nation of all people equals. Then, the constitution was created to remove the power from the governance and develop limits for using the power. Also, the constitution separates the power forming the legislative and executive. This way, the law instead of individuals would govern people. As Rousseau states:

“What man loses by the social contract is his natural liberty and an unlimited right to everything he tries to get and succeeds in getting; what he gains is civil liberty and the proprietorship of all he possesses.”

The constitution is strong and has your articles well developed. However, as the country has evolved, sometimes it’s necessary to make adjustments. Some concerns that could not be planned beforehand can now require attention. Thus, the constitution can be changed according to Article V:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

It guarantees that the constitution can be ratification in case of any matter.

References

Rousseau, J. (2017). The social contract. Jonathan Bennett. https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/rousseau1762.pdf

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Thiago Marsal Farias
Thiago Marsal Farias

Written by Thiago Marsal Farias

Passionate about mentoring teams, fostering innovation, and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to solve complex business challenges.

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