ABSTRACT
Democracy, it is frequently said, rests upon compromise. But democratic theory itself is full of compromises—compromises of clashing and antagonistic principles. The term "republic" was frequently used to refer to what we would be more inclined to call "representative" democracy. In searching for a theory about democracy that will bear up under examination, two alternatives suggest themselves, each centered on achieving one of the two basic goals so dangerously allied by James Madison's compromise. One possibility is to concentrate one's argument on Madison's worry that the majority will prevent the minority—or a particularly worthy minority—from achieving what it has a "right" to achieve, whether this be property, status, power, or the opportunity to save mankind. The other alternative is to lay down political equality as an end to be maximized, that is, to postulate that the goals of every adult citizen of a republic are to be accorded equal value in determining government policies.
