# Constitutional design

`kaal:entity:constitutional-design`

**Status.** derived

This node is assembled mechanically from the 5 claims that carry the concept tag `constitutional-design`. It is a roster of what the corpus says under this term. It is **not** an adjudicated definition: no single statement here has been ruled canonical, and no first-appearance call has been made. Read the claims and judge for yourself.

## Every claim under this term

5 claims across 3 works, 2021 to 2021.

**2021**

- [3782193-036](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-036) [condition/argued] -- Democracy itself decentralizes power, but to unify a large population holding diverse values the United States relies on rigid protocol centralization from a Rule-of-Law legal system, whose statutory clarity supplies the fairness and transparency that diverse groups require.
  > Democracy itself decentralizes power. However, to bring unity to a large population with diverse values, the United States has rigid protocol-centralization from a Rule- of-Law legal system.
  Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193
- [3782193-037](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-037) [mechanism/argued] -- The separation of powers works because it makes each branch's power derive from the others, harnessing the natural human competitive impulse to stop any branch from usurping power not enumerated in the Constitution, which is what the checks and balances prevent.
  > In the cyclical system, the powers of each branch derive from the others. The natural human competitive impulse is har- nessed to prevent any branch from usurping power not enumerated in the Constitu- tion, the checks and balances to prevent centralization of power.
  Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193
- [3782193-038](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-038) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- When the executive branch is given more centralizing power during a crisis, or simply takes it, the mechanism for removing that power once the threat has passed has rarely been followed.
  > When the executive branch is given more centralizing power during a crisis, or simply takes it, the mechanism for removing that power when the threat is over has rarely been followed.
  Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193
- [3782214-007](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782214-007) [mechanism/argued] *(failure mode)* -- The absence of a governance process is especially dangerous for peer to peer platforms precisely because decentralized organizations find it extremely difficult to change their rules once established.
  > The lack of governance is especially dangerous for these PCP platforms, because it is extremely difficult for decentralized organizations to change their rules.
  Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Decentralized Governance (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782214
- [3782220-022](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782220-022) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- Drawing a clear formal line between where individual rights stop and social responsibilities start makes the system brittle and unstable by turning that line into a focal point for competition, so the line between the two values must remain vague.
  > If we were to make a clear distinction between where our individual rights stop and social respon- sibilities start, then that formal line becomes a focal point for competition which makes the system brittle and unstable. Instead the line between the two values must remain vague.
  Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of Transcendental Unifying Values for Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782220

## Verify

Every claim above resolves to a record carrying a verbatim source quote, the sha256 of the source PDF, and a preformatted citation. Nothing here asks to be taken on trust.

    curl -s https://wulfkaal.github.io/entities/constitutional-design.md | sha256sum

**Canonical form.** This markdown file is the canonical hashed representation of this entity node. Its sha256 is the content hash.