Democratic institutions presuppose the civic spirit they are meant to create.

Evidence

For a … people to understand wise principles of politics and follow basic rules of state craft, the effect would have to become the cause; the social spirit which must be the product of social institutions would have to preside over the setting up of those institutions; men would have to have already become before the advent of law that which they become as a result of law. — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 702

Categorization

• XREF: Rousseau’s famous paradox of founding connects to Tocqueville/Mill’s aristocratic antidote mentioned in the next note, and to Brown’s broader concern about how democratic citizens are produced. — connects to: Democracy is a mode of associated living, not just a form of government; Democratic legitimacy depends on citizens’ internalized commitment that imposed systems cannot replace — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 74; Civic voluntarism substitutes feeling effective for actually changing institutions. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 82 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Democracy is a mode of associated living, not just a form of government #expands (0.85)
• Democratic legitimacy depends on citizens’ internalized commitment that imposed systems cannot replace #corroborates (0.78) — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 74