ABSTRACT
In The Republic, Plato (1987, 83) characterizes democracy as a “charming form of government, full of variety and disorder” which, ultimately, leads to tyranny. Plato feared that if people were allowed to make decisions collectively, they would simply endorse their own self-interest, resulting in policies that were nothing more than the lowest common denominator of individual greed and desire for personal security (Macpherson 1966, 5). In its Athenian construction, democracy symbolizes rule by and of the people (Dahl 1956; Mayo 1960; Benn 1967, 338).
