Question

In a pure democracy, the people are the sovereign, and their will is declared by themselves; for this purpose, they must all come together to deliberate, and decide. This kind of government cannot be exercised, therefore, over a country of any considerable extent; it must be confined to a single city or at least limited to such bounds as that the people can conveniently assemble, be able to debate, understand the subject submitted to them, and declare their opinion concerning it.

Brutus No. 1, 1787
Based on the , which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

A. Elite democracy is the best model of representative democracy
B. Pure democracy is impossible
C. Participatory democracy does not work in large countries
D. Countries should be limited to small territories

Answer 1

The author of Brutus No. 1 would most likely agree that participatory democracy is impractical in large countries, stressing the logistical challenges and risks of factionalism in such systems.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on Brutus No. 1, the author would most likely agree with the statement that participatory democracy does not work in large countries. This is because, in a pure democracy, the will of the people is both expressed and decided upon by the people themselves, requiring them to come together physically to deliberate and make decisions on governance. Such a system is only viable within small communities where people can easily assemble and engage in direct discussion and decision-making.

In larger countries, the logistics of gathering the entire population and the complexities of issues make it impractical for all citizens to participate directly in such deliberations. Instead, representative democracies, where people elect officials to represent their interests, are more practical for larger nations. The author specifically points out the dangers inherent in pure democracies, including factionalism and the penchant for majorities to impose their will on minorities without checks and balances.