ABSTRACT
Republican sovereignty is today often disparaged on both the left and the right. The universal assumptions underpinning its commitment to the liberal rule of law, equal rights, and the duties of citizens inherently opposes the community of “the people.” Republican sovereignty is inherently inclusive and informed by pluralistic interests and diverse traditions. And this diversity also manifests itself in the separation of powers and the idea of checks and balances. That is precisely what draws the authoritarian sovereign’s contempt. The republican demand for the sovereign’s accountability threatens to constrain his most self-serving ambitions. To put it another way, republican sovereignty insists on transparency and, where authoritarian sovereigns seek to centralize power, calls for a more decentralized and institutionally pluralized government. But the republic also leaves economic and social contradictions intact and that, in turn, generates a conflict between those who support the free market and others who seek interventionist welfare policies. Thus, it becomes necessary to consider the relation between liberalism and socialism.
