Op-ed: Written constitutions don't necessarily bring order and freedom

So, if you have a sincere belief that the rule of law requires rule by lawyers, then I can see why the idea of a written constitution would be comforting. But it is a false comfort. In the same way that locks only keep honest people out, laws only constrain those who feel bound to respect them. The things safeguarding liberty in a country are much more incorporeal. For the constitutional government to prevail, both the government and its opposition, and their respective supporters, need to care more about democratic norms and the rule of law than they do about having power. When a country is unified around those sentiments, order and freedom will prevail. When there is no such unity, those things cannot survive. Words on paper will not save them.
Read the full article here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/103134292/written-constitutio…