ABSTRACT
The debate, if it is a debate, as to whether social pluralism is a good or a bad thing for the polity, and especially for democracy, is almost pointless. The directly political activities of the average citizen of the modern state make up such a small part of his life that it seems unrealistic to ascribe to them a major role in political socialization and other processes of intellectual and moral development. In the social as in the natural sciences, theorist and empiricist, philosopher and scientist, must work hand-in-hand, each providing guidance and material for the other. It is to be hoped that the present modest effort on the part of legal and political philosophers will make some small contribution to the study of the role of those intermediate organizations the importance of which to democracy has been so stressed by many theorists, from Aristotle to Althusius to Almond, to mention only the first letter of the alphabet.
