What does this foundational commitment to political equality mean, in concrete terms, for the kinds of institutions that we should embrace? Over time, liberals have derived three ambitious conclusions from this simple starting point. First, liberals deny that anybody can invoke their noble birth or their superior wisdom to force others to obey. Instead, they think of power as emanating from the people and insist on the egalitarian principle of “one person, one vote.” Some citizens may be richer, smarter, or taller than others. Elections may even confer some special privileges and
...more
