For the last two and a half centuries we have been engaged in an experiment on democracy at unprecedented scale, both in terms of geography and population.  In this talk, drawing upon an ongoing book project, I will argue that understanding the strengths and weaknesses of our current system depends upon seeing how three Roman concepts initially adapted to a context of small towns by medieval Europeans – representation, rule by the people, and citizenship – were scaled up to form the basis of modern democracy.  In medieval cities representation, the idea of “the people,” and citizenship involved clear practices for individual participation and in a face to face setting.  In today’s large democracies these three concepts continue, but they also have a certain fictional element because they do not automatically imply participation beyond voting as one in a multitude.  The success of modern democracy has in no small part depended on efforts to make these three concepts feel more concrete.