citizens lack professional competence all state power should come from the people (rulers are also ruled) higher legitimacy of decisions, if they were made directly by the people influence (manipulation) of the people by powerful interest groups or demagogues better participation of citizens in political decisions citizen decisions can delay processes special form of control of politicians stimulation of public debate minorities and their interests cannot be protected prevents abuse of power by political representatives new aspects (innovations) are introduced into the discussion An assembly of all citizens is not possible in a large country those affected should decide on measures / decisions themselves directly affected or well-informed citizens have advantages over uninterested, unaffected or poorly informed ones can lead to a split in society high degree of information of the population (good information possibilities by television, newspaper or Internet) complicated issues can hardly be reduced to yes / no votes elected bodies and representatives can be damaged or weakened citizens have their own interests in mind rather than the common good (act selfishly) necessary but unpopular decisions can be blocked Interest groups mobilize only for their own purposes with appropriate quorums, protection against success of minority interests