Thus, the—purportedly—democratic leveling was carried so far that the higher as well as the lower status groups were disfranchised, and only the ideal entity of "the people as a whole" remained. Opponents soon declared that this newly discovered concept of "the people" served only to transfer "the people's" unlimited sovereignty to a single man.

XREF: Echoes the classic critique of Rousseau's general will and how universal enfranchisement can paradoxically concentrate power. Connects to broader authoritarian-populism literature.

DEFINE: Clarifies how 'the people as a whole' functioned rhetorically to transfer sovereignty to one ruler.

Georg Simmel, on individuality and social…, loc. 672