The conservative case for the Constitution, part V: Why the Union depends on consensus

In the previous entry in this series, the author enumerated the main disadvantages of a government premised on consensus, emphasizing the difficulty of expeditious action. Whenever justice or the general welfare requires the government to change policy quickly, a government like the American Constitution will perform less ably than one like the modern Britain system. When weighed against the main virtue of a system based on consensus—namely, reducing self-interested factional policymaking—a bit of an impasse appears. We seem to be left to pick our poison: a government that is reasonably fair but grossly inefficient or one that is expeditious and potentially unjust. However, consensus holds a decisive advantage as the foundation of our government because it is a necessary condition for holding together a nation as large and diverse as the United States