Authoritarians of all stripes have found it easier to take power by adopting the rhetoric of freedom than by challenging it directly. Their goal, as Popper wrote, is "to take advantage of sentiments, not wasting one's energies in futile efforts to destroy them."~(96) In the name of abstract freedom, we find our real freedom—freedom to enjoy our lives and to enjoy a future not increasingly darkened by climate change—is being eroded. If the courts are to be legitimate in a democracy, and play a role in protecting it as climate stresses worsen, they must serve the interests of democracy by reinforcing it. A democracy-supporting jurisprudence encourages democratic participation, supports meaningful public power— especially for politically disadvantaged minorities and for the public at large as against narrow oligarchic interests— and seeks to avoid or correct partisan capture of democratic processes. Such a jurisprudence creates a chance for climate action by allowing all interests to be heard, and for the strong public will for action to be implemented equitably.
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