Second, democratic practice does not require participation by the people as a whole. What is required is that all those individuals materially affected by decisions in a given functional area should be represented and that they have the opportunity to participate in those decisions. This raises the problem of what interests in any given case are to be accepted as legitimate. Burnheim notes that this problem is hardly ever addressed by democratic theorists. That each person should have the opportunity to influence decisions on any matter affecting their legitimate interests seems straightforward, but Burnheim insists that the converse thesis also holds and is generally ignored in discussions of democratic practice: nobody should have input into decisions where they have no legitimate material interest. If this requirement is shelved the result simply is tyranny, "in the strict sense". Burnheim adds that all present forms of democracy, as well as all proposed forms, not only permit but encourage such tyranny. The practice of vote trading by political operatives is the result - trading my vote on an issue upon which I have no interest for another vote on an issue that concerns me deeply.
