Dear Robin:

        Let me explain what James Madison, Father of the Constitution and 4th President of the United States said on what a small number of citizens meant. He said, "From this view of the subject, it may be concluded, that a pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person, can admit of no cure from the mischiefs of faction.
A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert, results from the form of government itself; and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party, or an obnoxious individual. Hence it is, that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible  with personal security,or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in ther lives as they have been violent in their deaths. Theoretic politicians, who have patronized this species of government, have erroneously supposed, that by reducing mankind to a perfect equality in their political rights, they would, at the same time, be perfectly equalized and assimilated in their possessions, their opinions, and their passions.

  Have a nice day!   Charlotte 	
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From:   Robin Brooker[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Friday, May 02, 1997 10:17 AM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: The State

This may seem niaive but I see a difference between the State and the
individual.  It is when the State seems to act in the interests of the nation
rather than in the interest of its peoples.   Take the fact that the State in
the UK, led by the Conservative Party policies, has operated in the interests
of the few rather than the many.  Yes, the 'few' are individuals but one
cannot indicate that their interests are shared by the many.

Robin Brooker