An examination of a powerful strain of modern political thought from Machiavelli to Morris Florin, that sees ‘the people’ as apolitical. In this view, the people share a common sense interest in security, prosperity, and fairness. Were it not for ‘political animals’—those with a lust for office or power—common sense might rule. The point of democratic institutions, in this view, is to empower apolitical common sense. Is this view of democracy persuasive?
