Where to Begin?

If what goes on in human societies are viewed as “institutionalfacts” rather than “brutefacts,” then basic issues are raised with regard to the meaning of federalism. Institutional facts are constituted by reference to rules and rule-ordered arrangements. Such arrangements turn upon design concepts and their place in the constitution of order in human societies. Constituting societies through patterns of covenantal relationships implies that federal societies cannot be understood by placing primary reliance on forms of government. The question “where to begin?” raises basic ontological and epistemological problems bearing on the place of language and culture in the constitution of covenanting societies.