We the (poor) people - constitutions and the economically marginalised

<p><a href="http://www.constitution.org/tp/rightsman2.htm">Thomas Paine</a> once wrote, ‘A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government’.&nbsp; If so, it follows that the people must have a voice in how they are to be governed.&nbsp;</p><p>Much progress has been made in recent years to take constitution-making out of the proverbial smoke-filled chambers of elite-bargaining and into town-halls, village squares and the internet – where far more groups and individuals can make their voices heard. In 2013, both <a href="http://www.constitutionnet.org/news/vietnams-new-constitution-charter-comprehensive-renovation">Viet Nam</a> and <a href="http://www.constitutionnet.org/country/constitutional-history-myanmar#New_constitutional_developments_and_challenges">Myanmar</a> conducted public consultations for their parliamentary-led constitutional reform processes, and even in <a href="http://www.constitutionnet.org/country/constitutional-history-egypt">Egypt</a> – where public consultations were limited at best – the new Constitution was adopted by referendum.
Read the full article here: Development Progress