4. The Polemic Aspect. In so far as the concept of
Volksgeist implies a demand of faithfulness to a people's
traditions and to its spiritual principles of creativity,
it implies pari passu the awareness of a distinction
between different peoples' characters and their tradi-
tions. In its turn this distinction may take a polemical
shape in adopting a critical attitude towards certain
traditions and in giving preference to others. This
polemical aspect in the concept of a people's or a
community spirit of peoples comes to the fore in the
Slavic domain. A. I. Herzen speaks specifically about
the Slav genius and about its incompatibility with
centralized government. Adam Mickiewicz spoke
about the Slav tribe as characterized by religiosity,
straightforwardness, and force. In connection with
religion as a characteristic feature of the Slavic peo-
ples, Herzen said that Russia will never be Protestant
nor will it be juste-milieu, and these two are inter-
related, since for him Protestantism was a bourgeois
religion. The Pan-Slavists followed the same line,
stressing the interest in religion characteristic of the
Russian people, an interest which is similar to that of
the ancient Jews. In contradistinction to the Germans,
the Poles, according to Mickiewicz, believe in the
power of great personalities and not in the opinions
of the masses; while Herzen points out that the droit
du seigneur has never existed among Slav peoples.
Hence there exists a natural affinity between the Slavic
character and the inner disposition for communism.
The slogan of Volksgeist here takes a messianic direc-
tion at times.
In a different context, John Dewey points to the
abuse of the term in German philosophy which used
it to assume constancy where constancy was absent.
