Originally Posted by Alan Shore

That is one point of view of how a representational system should work -- that each rep's job is to carry out specific tasks put upon him by his constituents, regardless of what effect he believes that performing those tasks will have on those constituents. The opposite point of view is that each rep's job is to guard and advance the best interests of his constituents as he sees fit.

Most representational systems seem to borrow something from each of these points of view to find a happy medium.