People are too dumb, blind, and easily manipulated for a democracy.
I hear this claim made routinely, but I rarely see the folks saying it believe that they personally are too dumb, blind, and easily manipulated.
I might argue that people are routinely very clever, observant, and stubborn. And this is why simplistic, generalized political systems are so prone to failure. People worm their way into every crack and flaw in the system, seeking out every vulnerability as a potential personal advantage. And once they’ve found profit more people pour through the cracks until the system crumbles.
This isn’t a problem unique to democracy.
I’d argue that anyone arguing politics online for either side probably has more knowledge about politics than 99% of the population, even if they are arguing with bad arguments and have bad information they’ve got SOMETHING
Most people we are talking about don’t even know the candidates, don’t know shit about shit and get their opinion from the last Facebook ad they saw.
anyone arguing politics online for either side probably has more knowledge about politics than 99% of the population
That’s a very self-aggrandizing theory of politics.
Most people we are talking about don’t even know the candidates
State and federal candidates routinely have very high name recognition. Lower level candidates tend to be invisible by design, and largely creatures of the party apparatus.
It hardly matters who your state house representative or city council member is when anyone running is just aspiring to become the crony of the mayor or governor.
