Subsidiarity as the Preference for Proximity

This article reflects on subsidiarity as the preference for proximity. In doing so, it focuses both on the idea of the preference for proximity and the preference for proximity. The impetus for doing so is Nick Barber’s book The Principles of Constitutionalism, which counts subsidiarity as one of six principles that a constitution should embrace, and which theorizes subsidiarity as a commitment to democracy. This article considers, in Part II, the implications of considering subsidiarity as a preference, and in particular the challenges that creates for the project of adopting subsidiarity as a constitutional principle. It goes on, in Part III, to explore the constitutional principle of subsidiarity proposed by Barber, highlighting unique features of this theory of subsidiarity and evaluating the extent to which, by focusing on subsidiarity as democratic commitment, Barber’s theory provides a viable account of the preference for proximity.