Released in January 2003, this working paper from the University of Chicago's Public Law and Legal Theory Working Paper Series asks the vexing question: "Why does the American Constitution lack social and economic guarantees?" Authored by Professor Cass Sunstein, the 20-page paper explores four possible reasons why this may be the case. As noted by Sunstein, these reasons can be articulated as being either chronological, cultural, institutional, or realist. Divided into seven parts, Sunstein's paper engages each of these potential reasons, along with offering some brief concluding remarks. The realist explanation is perhaps the most provocative aspect of the work, suggesting that the four critical Supreme Court appointments made by President Nixon may have effectively undercut an emerging movement that may have led to the incorporation of such guarantees into the Constitution.