In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. In a republic, it is not the will of the people but the rational consensus of the people—a rational consensus which is implicit in the term consent—which governs the people. That is to say, in a democracy, popular passion may rule—may, though it need not—but in a republic, popular passion is regarded as unfit to rule, and the precautions are taken to see that it is subdued rather than sovereign. In a democracy all politicians are, to some degree, demagogues: They appeal to people’s prejudices and passions, they incite their expectations by making reckless promises, they endeavor to ingratiate themselves with the electorate in every possible way. In a republic, there are not supposed to be such politicians, only statesmen—sober, unglamorous, thoughtful men who are engaged in a kind of perpetual conversation with the citizenry.
ATTRIBUTION:
Irving Kristol (b. 1920), U.S. editor, educator. “The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution,” Reflections of a Neoconservative, Basic Books (1983).
