Contemporary attempts to bring 'meaningfulness' to democracy through the use of mechanisms such as 'cultural rights' often distort the original intent of democracy. In John Locke's case, the cultural attempts was primarily to limit the concentration of political power. Modern romanticism is a response to the more contemporary manifestation of epistemological relativism. But the German Romantics, tellingly, were not democrats, and did not have to worry about how to fit their ideas within a democratic framework. The current romanticization of democracy is closely tied to the development of the concept of autonomy. The best form of democracy for a globalized world is thus one in which clear and impartial institutions permit individuals enough room to sort out subjective issues like 'meaningfulness' in their own way. A more familiar justification for sovereignty rests solely upon domestic political relations, specifically the consent of the governed.