ABSTRACT
Understanding the causes and consequences of democracy is a knowledgebased enterprise involving the search for truth. True knowledge about the conditions and outcomes of democracy would consist of a body of 'true statements' in the sense of 'corresponding to reality'. Theoretical plausibility and empirical evidence can help us to make the best choice of these propositions we consider true of democracy. Methodological positivism (MP) outlines a strategy for making these choices so as to come as close as possible to the truth.
