With admirable speed, Adrian Vermeule has already posted a somewhat extensive response to our review of his book Common Good Constitutionalism, calling us "The Bourbons of Jurisprudence" in a blog post at Ius et Iustitium.
For the most part our review can rest on its own. We may have more to say on further reflection, but for now we'll flag just a few clarifications, as readers trying to follow the exchange may have missed them.
First, Vermeule's post focuses on alleged defects in our interpretive approach. But the review is largely an effort to take his book and its arguments on their own terms; most of our criticisms would hold regardless of our own interpretive views. If we turn out to be wrong about interpretation, that doesn't show common good constitutionalism to be right.
