But if the story of the Articles of Confederation tells us anything, it is that these flaws (assuming one views them as flaws) are not in themselves enough to prompt change. What will bring change — or at least, the possibility of change — is when those flaws render the country too sclerotic and dysfunctional to tackle its most existential challenges.
As the United States struggles, for example, to do anything serious to prevent climate catastrophe, it’s fair to say that this moment is somewhere on the horizon. In which case, constitutional change will be here sooner than we think. The real question is whether, in the face of such a crisis, we keep our commitment to self-government. And that, I’m afraid, is impossible to say.”