Is democracy scalable?

Question

In a small tribe, where pretty much everyone knows everyone else (and their ancestors) one could elect one person to rule over all; he is in a simple sense, first amongst equals, for all the members of the tribe.

Plato discusses Democracy in a Polis. Already there he deplores it as a fall from Aristocracy.

In some sense I agree with him, why would I not want to be ruled by the best?

Is part of his argument against democracy, is the scale of the city?

President Obama, is surely first amongst his cabal, but not amongst surely all his citizens; despite the appearance of this, by the modern public relations industry.

Can Democracy scale to the size of medium sized country, say like France; can it scale ever to a sub-continent sized country, such as the states?

If they are not democracies, then what are they? Is calling them representative democracies a fig-leaf, are they in fact something else?

Answer 1

One possible answer to this is given by Rousseau. You can read the part on Democracy here (the following chapters are at least as relevant, so don't skip them).

Little extract:

For a monarchical State to have a chance of being well governed, its population and extent must be proportionate to the abilities of its governor. It is easier to conquer than to rule. With a long enough lever, the world could be moved with a single finger; to sustain it needs the shoulders of Hercules. However small a State may be, the prince is hardly ever big enough for it. When, on the other hand, it happens that the State is too small for its ruler, in these rare cases too it is ill governed, because the ruler, constantly pursuing his great designs, forgets the interests of the people, and makes it no less wretched by misusing the talents he has, than a ruler of less capacity would make it for want of those he had not. A kingdom should, so to speak, expand or contract with each reign, according to the prince's capabilities; but, the abilities of a senate being more constant in quantity, the State can then have permanent frontiers without the administration suffering.

Answer 2

Democracy is scalable an applicable at many levels, what varies is its connotation regarding cultural differences, or even semantic.

Take for instance, a Plutocracy ruled by the wealthy, or a Monarchy. In every case that government is posible only because majority chose democratically in one way or another, by action or omission, to allow those governments to exist.

Even pirates were democrats - not pun intended regarding some political party. Pirate communities were some of the first with a system of checks and balances.

So democracy can be scaled (I prefer... could be found with different connotations) at many levels, even in some degenerate, or amoral, forms of government - again no particular allusion here.