Constitution cafe : Jefferson's brew for a true revolution / Christopher Phillips.

Includes bibliographical references.

Constitution café -- In the beginning -- Constitution making and remaking -- Commons and goods -- Character counts -- Money matters -- Hail to the chief -- And justice for all -- Governors and the governed -- Rights and responsibilities -- Brew for a true revolution.

Thomas Jefferson proposed that we revise the Constitution every so often, not just to reflect the changing times but to revive and perpetuate our original revolutionary spirit. Could it be that the Constitution itself is part of the reason that our democracy is on life support, our government gone haywire? To find out, Christopher Phillips, originator of the Socrates Café dialogues, sets off on a cross-country junket to engage Americans of all stripes in an offbeat constitutional convention. Given the opportunity to rewrite the Constitution, a diverse bunch--from Burning Man die-hards to army veterans, Tea Party acolytes to Orange County slackers--weighs in with some really wild and worthwhile ideas about how our nation should be governed. With Jefferson as his iconoclastic and visionary guide, Phillips moderates these discussions and complements his participants' ideas by relating them to Jefferson's own experiences with governance and to his great expectations for our democracy.--From publisher description.