ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that constitutional democracy has demanding ethical and cultural prerequisites. The notion that all historically existing societies are full of exploitation and other evils and that a society of justice and well-being can be created only through sweeping and radical change has appeared in many versions since the time of the French Jacobins. The Jacobin spirit found an uncompromising particular form in Marxism. Since Karl Marx looked forward to the destruction of capitalism and the triumph of socialism and communism, it might seem that a defender of capitalism could have little in common with the new Jacobinism. A Jacobin in spirit could thus become an enthusiastic advocate of capitalism—provided capitalism is expected to function in a particular way. The destruction of old-fashioned civilized life that capitalism of this type brings with it is similar to that affected by plebiscitary democracy.
