That each individual acts according to his own interests, that he is the best judge of these interests, whether economic or political, and that democratic government, given representative mechanisms that allow citizens to choose among different political offerings, is automatically the most efficient one possible for satisfying people's interests — this is a series of assumptions that lies behind a lot of common-sense opinions that lead people to prefer democracy over other forms of government. A general theory of government rests (...) on these same assumptions, elaborated by a vast, specialized literature. Already it seems to dominate totally the academic scene in Anglo-Saxon countries, is spreading also to Scandinavia, Germany, and Switzerland, and is even being discussed in Italy. (shrink)