politics, and he evades questions of internationalnconduct. This is to say thatnthe concentration on the local necessarilynleaves less time for the national.nBoyte’s omission of international politicsnmerely indicates that the concernsnof the large republic are beyond the spannof those who address the concerns ofnthe small republic. If Americans organizenfor decent purposes, they might sustainnthe civic virtue that would keepndemocracy a decent form of governmentnfor us. Boyte’s groups invariably organizenfor self-interested reasons, indicatingn.that their concerns are theirnmonetary matters rather than large mattersnof the permanent and aggregateninterests of the community. As such,nBoyte’s groups are not properly citizens’ngroups, for they lack the element ofncommon public concern that makes activityntruly political. Rather, they arenorganizations united for specifically privatenpurposes shared by local people,nhowever large the local groups mightnof reconciling democracy with humannrights.nWalzer is also a committed socialist,nand most of the essays compiled fornthis volume. Radical Principles, werenoriginally published in the pages ofnDissent, the American socialists’ quarterly.nHe is, however, a socialist with an”Clfarly I The Backyard Ri:ioluti