The Much Abused Commerce Clause

"The Madisonian construction is flawed by its authorization of government regulation through the much abused Commerce Clause. The authorization should be restricted to the prevention of interferences with voluntary exchanges and should not extend to the prohibition, or the coercive dictation of the terms, of such exchanges. Nor should any differentiation be made between exchanges within the domestic economy and those made with others outside the political jurisdiction. The Constitution has proved effective in insuring that the large American market be open inside national boundaries; it has not operated to insure freedom of trade beyond these limits."

James M. Buchcanan