ABSTRACT
The word "aristocratic" carries for the Jacobins unpleasant connotations, conjuring up images of arrogance, stupidity, narrow-mindedness, ignorance, and intolerance. Although Jacobin intellectuals consider themselves much superior to the common run of humanity and are anxious to lead "the people", their official doctrine is that no preconceived ideas should stand in the way of individuals moving up and achieving greater influence. In America, the neo-Jacobin preoccupation with equality produces a strong bias in the interpretation of the US Constitution and the so-called "Founding". Hoping to take advantage of the old American reverence for the Constitution, the new Jacobins try to portray it as being in tune with their own notions of equality and democracy. Contrary to the neo-Jacobin view of the American Constitution, it could even be plausibly argued that, in all but name, the Framers set up an elective constitutional monarchy with a quasi-aristocratic Senate and Supreme Court.
