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，現任教於山東大學法學院，香港中文大學政治學博士，耶魯大學法學院法學碩士，曾譯有《法院與憲法》（北京大學齣版社2006年）、《事故共和國：殘疾的工人、貧窮的寡婦與美國法的重構》（上海三聯書店2008年）。

斯蒂芬·布雷耶，自1994年起，任美國聯邦最高法院大法官，在此之前，他曾任教於哈佛大學法學院，齣版有《打破惡性循環：政府如何有效規製風險》、《規製及其改革》等行政法領域內的經典著作；自1980年至1994年，布雷耶為聯邦第一巡迴區上訴法院法官，並在土990年至土994年擔任該院首席法官。在任職最高法院後，布雷耶成為自由派憲法解釋理論的代言者，並在2005年齣版《積極自由：美國憲法的民主解釋論》一書。