ABSTRACT
The history of the referendum as a democratic expedient utilized by the socialist parties may be summed up by saying that its application has been rare, and that its results have been unfortunate. In the domain of public law, democracy attains it culminating point in that complex of institutions which exists in Switzerland, where the people possess the right of the referendum and that of the initiative. The use of the referendum is compulsory in Switzerland upon a number of questions which are statutorily determined. In the Italian Socialist Party the referendum was practiced for a certain time, especially as regards questions upon which a preceding congress had not come to a decision, or where this decision had been insufficiently clear. The referendum is open to criticism to the same extent and for the same reasons as is every other form of direct popular government.
