Pluralismo, democrazia limitata e democrazia costituzionale

The paper contains a critical review of some tenets defended by Engelhardt over his writings collected in the Italian book "VIaggi in Italia", mainly (i) the notion of limited democracy and namely the view and the role of fundamental rights within Engelhardt’s proposal about limited democracy; (ii) the theoretical premises and the consequences of the notion of difference that lies at the basis of Engelhardt’s view of moral pluralism. Which is the relationship between Engelhardt’s notion of limited democracy and the model of constitutional democracy? Which differences deserve attention within a limited democracy? Is the notion of difference that is embraced by Engelhardt suitable to guarantee – as it is supposed to do - the coexistence among “moral strangers” within a political community? Would not limited democracy imply some kind of public reason? Is it to be understood as a modus vivendi?