This is a collection of some of the greatest theses ever written about democracy. Here you will find Jean Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Aquinas, Cicero and Aristotle, John Stuart Mill and John Locke- and, of course, our very own James Madison. The selection was made according to the views expressed on why a democratic system of government is the best. What we need, the author contends, is a system that provides the greatest good for the greatest number- and a system of rule simply by the majority of the people is not the best.

This collection also includes essays on law, education, and economics as they relate to the main theme. Adam Smith and Karl Marx are both included because, in their own way, they each advocate the greatest good for the greatest number. There are also essays from Alexis de Tocqueville, Andrew Carnegie, and Horace Mann outlining their views on what is good for society.