Pettit lectures on ‘What, Why, and How of Democracy’

Pettit lectures on ‘What, Why, and How of Democracy’

YOUNGSTOWN — Upon the adoption of the Constitution of the United States in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked by a woman what kind of government had been created, to which he famously replied, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” Asked to comment on what Franklin meant, Dr. Philip Pettit, one of the world’s foremost scholars in ethical and political theory, said, “Whenever you have competing motives (for governmental power), there’s always an…