The possibility of self-government

Many have suggested that the findings of social choice theory demonstrate t hat there can be no "will of the people". This has subversive implications for our intuitive concept of self-government. I explore the relation betwee n the notion of a "social will," that of self-government, and the impossibi lity theorems of social choice theory. I conclude that although the concept of the social will is essential to that of self-government, the findings o f social choice theory do not cast doubt, my argument does of either. Unlik e many attempts to the problematic notion of the common good.