Robert A. Dahl (1915–2014)

I don't think this book quite matches the author's later works in terms of breadth and insight. In fact I found it a bit hard to really grasp what the argument was until the final chapter when the author finally gathers his separate strands together. The book begins with Madison's brief thesis on the tyranny of the majority and discusses it at some length. In the ensuing chapters the author mostly criticizes the presupposition that the operations of democratic societies can be described in terms of the contrasts between majorities and minorities. In this context he refers to "populist democracy" and "polyarchal democracy", but the meaning of these two terms did not quite become clear to me. Polyarchy is given a much more clear treatment in the author's subsequent book with that title.

Nevertheless, this is a good book especially for historically inclined political theorists interested in Madison's writings. Other readers could just as well start their studies from more recent works by the same author.… (more)