Op-ed: Brexit and the limits of direct democracy: Reform the referendum

<div class="content-list-component mt-paragraph text"><p>In Federalist No. 63, James Madison wrote that the defining principle of American democracy, as compared to Athenian democracy, “lies in the total exclusion of the people in their collective capacity.” This was a warning against the dangers of direct democracy - referendums, voter initiatives and the like; Madison was against populist usurpation (by the ballot box) of elected representatives’ responsibility to make decisions on complex issues, with the benefit of parliamentary debate and the ability to negotiate compromises.</p>
Read the full article here: The Huffington Post