t to property among the most important. Since protection of property and other rights is the reason people placed themselves under the authority of a government, it follows logically that government itself should not be allowed to interfere in the exercise of those rights (Hudson, 1996, pp. 7-14). This model of protective democracy advocates popular control of government as a means of protecting individual liberty. However, the concern with the dangers of popular participation, or the "excesses of democracy", as the Founders put it, was a major factor precipitating the American Constitutional Convention of 1787. Many of the institutional arrangements established in the Constitution were intended to reduce the potential for a democratic majority to threaten individual liberty. Among the most important was the system of the separation of powers, which divides lawmaking power among different institutions: the presidency, Congress, and the judiciary. In addition, Congress is divided into two branches, whose members are elected under different electoral schemes.
Liberalism heavily influences the Protective Democracy model. Political institutions such as the separation of powers, federalism, and bicameralism are intended to limit the power of the government so that it will not behave in a tyrannical manner. Political participation within these institutions provides further protection because citizens will be vigilant in protecting their freedoms.
While the Protective model of democracy assumes a negative view of human nature, in that it is geared toward preventing humans from controlling the state to the detriment of liberty, the Developmental model of democracy assumes a more positive view of people. Through participation in governmental institutions and the affairs of their communit
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