Western democracy is today exempt from any critical discussion. It seems to be the goal of history. Questioning its legitimacy is subject to a prohibition on thought. Nevertheless, Western democracies wage aggressive wars, and voters in these democracies can usually only choose between two political parties, two camps, two policy options. Open contempt for humanity is tolerated just as much as its proponents. Herbert Marcuse analyzes why: because Western, bourgeois democracy is formal and not bound to material humanitarian principles.