The New Progressive Federalism: Common Benefits, State Constitutional Rights, and Democratic Action

In 1776, a group of political outsiders in Pennsylvania seized control of the convention and drafting process to create a robustly democratic and class-conscious state constitution. These commoners believed governments upheld and extended social and political privilege, serving primarily the interests of wealthy and powerful citizens. They tried to reverse these oligarchic tendencies, particularly through a "common benefits clause": here the social contract prioritized the whole community and instituted a more horizontal form of equality among citizens. Ultimately, the short-lived Pennsylvania constitution of 1776 left a powerful legacy, largely forgotten but useful to remember. Today, in a broad "new progressive federalist" movement, democratic political action is rising up from city, state, and local governments to interrupt and counteract the oligarchic tendencies of the national government under the Trump administration. This paper shows how common benefit and equal privilege clauses, still on the books in many states, can inspire and inform this movement.