IWP celebrates Constitution Day with lecture by Dr. Roger Pilon
Posted: Tuesday, September 18, 2012
In honor of Constitution Day on Monday, September 17th, members of the IWP community gathered for a lecture entitled, "The U.S. Constitution: Model for the World?" with Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Cato Institute Roger Pilon, who offered insights on the topic.
As a distinguished member of the Washington community, Dr. Pilon is the founder and director of Cato's Center for Constitutional Studies as well as the publisher of the Cato Supreme Court Review and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University through the Fund for American Studies.
In addressing the topic, he referenced the intent of the founding fathers as they drafted the U.S. Constitution, stating that their goal was to secure individual rights and liberties through a limited government. Moreover, he emphasized the negative implications that an expansive government can have on a country's economy by citing our current deficit crisis. Dr. Pilon even disclosed his concerns with the promises that we have made to future generations regarding social security, and went further to offer possible solutions, which included establishing private social security accounts for individuals to manage themselves.
To conclude the lecture, and answer the question at hand, Dr. Pilon explained, "...that the constitution itself IS a model for other countries around the world..." and continued to stress that, provided it is adhered to as the founded fathers had intended, and not deviated from, as some European nations have done, it would prove successful.
- Jacqueline Garcia
