本文將先以兩個具體的例子，說明固有文化與憲政主義是怎麼互動的，接著探討五權憲法如何調適兩者，以及早年全民政治的制度如何失敗。然後，本文將分析指出，當前全民政府的倡言不僅牴觸固有文化的期許，同時有害憲政主義的落實。憲政主義作為一種國外輪入的價值，由於引導人們從制度權力的角度思考問題，已經有效地改變了人們對政治正當性的態度，則使得固有文化對政治人物內生的教化作用，也逐漸失去規範的力量。政治人物利用道德地位追求制權力，就會失去道德，道德權力與政策權力不可兼得。

　　　　　The development of constitutionalism in Taiwan is constrained by traditional Chinese political culture. The idea of limited government demanded by constitutionalism presupposes self-motivating citizens and contradicts the Confucian virtues imbedded in selfless officialdom. The more the leadership speaks of checks and balances, the less they appear morally superior. The author discusses those cultural values that affect the operation of constitutional govenment and attempts to apply them institutionally to the 1947 constitution. He then examines the process leading to the breakdown of the 1947 system and the rise of the "all peole's govenment" discourse since the late 1990s. The new discourse reflects that the current government is neither legitimate culturally nor constitutionally.