# Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People

**URL:** <https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/our-republican-constitution-securing-the-liberty-and-sovereignty-of-we-the-people>

**By** Randy E. Barnett, Trevor Burrus, Aaron Ross Powell

**Published:** August 26, 2016

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Randy E. Barnett discusses his new book, Our Republican Constitution.

If the Constitution were interpreted according to its original meaning, how libertarian would that Constitution be? How do we decide what the original meaning of the Constitution is?  
  
Randy E. Barnett explains why popular sovereignty resides in individuals rather than in any notion of "the will of the people."  
  
What would America look like if judges interpreted the Constitution according to the original intent of the Founders?  
  
**Show Notes and Further Reading**  
  
Here is Barnett's latest book, [_Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People_](https://www.amazon.com/Our-Republican-Constitution-Securing-Sovereignty/dp/0062412280) (2016).  
  
He also mentions his book [Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty](https://www.amazon.com/Restoring-Lost-Constitution-Presumption-Liberty/dp/0691159734/) (2013).  
  
Here's an earlier episode of Free Thoughts featuring Randy Barnett, "[The Structure of Liberty.](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/the-structure-of-liberty)"  
  
Trevor mentions the previous Free Thoughts episode with Gary Gerstle on his book [_Liberty and Coercion: The Paradox of American Government from the Founding to the Present_](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/liberty-and-coercion-the-paradox-of-american-government-from-the-founding-to-the-present) (2015).