There's a column in today's New York Times dealing with Tony Blair's unloved condition in his own country. The piece is mostly unremarkable, with points that will be familiar to readers on this side of the Atlantic. Amongst these points, however, is the following:
But many of his compatriots said he did not listen to the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets of London imploring him to pull back from conflict.
That's one use of the word 'listen', I suppose. It's not 'listen' as in pay attention to and consider. It's rather listen as in accept the point of view - or even give priority to this view rather than to the vote on the relevant issues in the country's parliament. It contains a surreptitious theory of democracy.