in 1833, james madison wrote an unaddressed letter on the question of “majority government” in the context of the tariff fight of 1832 and the subsequent nullification crisis. it’s a discussion on the nature of majorities that ends on this (i think) provocative note 
“....the vital principle of republican government is the lex majoris partis, the will of the majority; that if the will of a majority cannot be trusted where there are diversified and conflicting interests, it can be trusted nowhere”
Madison opens strong too
anyway this is what i’m doing on my parental leave when not with the newborn
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