This book, based on the Tanner lectures on Human Values that Justice Stephen Breyer delivered at Harvard University in November 2004, defines the term “active liberty” as a sharing of the nation’s sovereign authority with its citizens. Regarding the Constitution as a guide for the application of basic American principles to a living and changing society rather than as an arsenal of rigid legal means for binding and restricting it, Justice Breyer argues that the genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems.

Giving us examples of this approach in the areas of free speech, federalism, privacy, affirmative action, statutory interpretation, and administrative law, Justice Breyer states that courts should take greater account of the Constitution’s democratic nature when they interpret constitutional and statutory texts. He also insists that the people, through participation in community life, can and must develop the experience necessary to govern their own affairs. His distinctive contribution to the federalism debate is his claim that deference to congressional power can actually promote democratic participation rather than thwart it. He argues convincingly that although Congress is not perfect, it has done a better job than either the executive or judicial branches at balancing the conflicting views of citizens across the nation, especially during times of national crisis. With a fine appreciation for complexity, Breyer reminds all Americans that Congress, rather than the courts, is the place to resolve policy disputes.

Active Liberty is a declaration of the first importance, made by a judge often regarded as one of the court’s most brilliant members.

田雷，现任教于山东大学法学院，香港中文大学政治学博士，耶鲁大学法学院法学硕士，曾译有《法院与宪法》（北京大学出版社2006年）、《事故共和国：残疾的工人、贫穷的寡妇与美国法的重构》（上海三联书店2008年）。

斯蒂芬·布雷耶，自1994年起，任美国联邦最高法院大法官，在此之前，他曾任教于哈佛大学法学院，出版有《打破恶性循环：政府如何有效规制风险》、《规制及其改革》等行政法领域内的经典著作；自1980年至1994年，布雷耶为联邦第一巡回区上诉法院法官，并在土990年至土994年担任该院首席法官。在任职最高法院后，布雷耶成为自由派宪法解释理论的代言者，并在2005年出版《积极自由：美国宪法的民主解释论》一书。