Robert Ovetz on We the Elites

Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

According to Robert Ovetz the US constitution, written by 55 of the richest white men, and signed by only 39 of them, is the sacred text of American nationalism. Popular perceptions of it are mired in idolatry, myth and misinformation - many Americans have opinions on the constitution but have little idea what it says. In his book We the Elites, Ovetz reports he examining the constitution for what it is – a rulebook for elites to protect capitalism from democracy. Social movements have misplaced faith in the constitution as a tool for achieving justice when it actually impedes social change through the many roadblocks and obstructions we call 'checks and balances'. Join us when Senior Lecturer in Political Science at San José State University, Robert Ovetz's shares his research on the constitution which supports the concept that the system isn't broken, but in fact works as it was designed to, on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.