Experts can only propose; elected leaders dispose. And politicians are very rarely experts on any of the innumerable subjects that come before them for a decision. By definition, nobody can be an expert on China policy and health care and climate change and immigration and taxation, all at the same time. That is why during, say congressional hearings on a subject, actual experts are usually brought in to advise the elected laypeople charged with making sound decisions.Americans too easily forget that the form of government under which they live was not designed for mass decisions about complicated issues. Neither, of course, was it designed for rule by a tiny group of technocrats or experts. Rather, it was meant to be the way by which an informed electorate could choose other people to represent them, come up to speedon important questions, and make decisions on the public’s behalf.The workings of such a representative democracy, however, are many times more difficult when the electorate is not competent to judge the matters at hand. Laypeople complain about the ruleof experts and demand greater involvement in complicated national questions, but many of them express their anger and make these demands only after giving up their own important role in theprocess: namely, to stay informed and politically literate enoughto choose representatives who can act wisely on their behalf. Ignorant voters end up punishing society at large for their own mistakes.Too few citizens today understand democracy to mean a condition of political equality in which all are able to vote andare equal in the eyes of the law. Rather, they think of it as a state of actual equality, in which every opinion is as good as any other, regardless of the logic or evidentiary basebehind it. But that is not how a republic is meant to work, and the sooner American society establishes new basic rules for productive engagement between educated elites and the society around them, the better.Experts need to remember, always, that they are the servants of a democratic society and a republican government. Their citizen masters, however, must equip themselves not just with education but also with the kind of civic virtue that keeps them involved in the running of their own country. Laypeople cannot do without experts, and they must accept this reality without getting angry. Experts, likewise, must accept that they get a hearing, not a veto, and that their advice will not always be taken. At the present time, the bonds tying the system together are dangerously weakened. Unless some sort of trust and mutual respectcan be restored, public discourse will be polluted by unearned respect for unfounded opinions. And in such an environment, anything and everything becomes possible, including the end of democracy and republican government itself.
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Recordings
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democracy２ ( recorded by
sadiavt
),
New England, Philadelphia
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Corrected Textmore↓Experts can only propose; elected leaders dispose. And politicians are very rarely experts on any of the innumerable subjects that come before them for a decision.
By definition, nobody can be an expert on China policy and health care and climate change and immigration and taxation, all at the same time. That is why during, say congressional hearings on a subject, actual experts are usually brought in to advise the elected laypeople charged with making sound decisions.
Americans too easily forget that the form of government under which they live was not designed for mass decisions about complicated issues. Neither, of course, was it designed for rule by a tiny group of technocrats or experts. Rather, it was meant to be the way by which an informed electorate could choose other people to represent them, come up to speed on important questions, and make decisions on the public’s behalf. The workings of such a representative democracy, however, are many times more difficult when the electorate is not competent to judge the matters at hand.
Laypeople complain about the rule of experts and demand greater involvement in complicated national questions, but many of them express their anger and make these demands only after giving up their own important role in the process: namely, to stay informed and politically literate enough to choose representatives who can act wisely on their behalf. Ignorant voters end up punishing society at large for their own mistakes.
Too few citizens today understand democracy to mean a condition of political equality in which all are able to vote and are equal in the eyes of the law. Rather, they think of it as a state of actual equality, in which every opinion is as good as any other, regardless of the logic or evidentiary base behind it. But that is not how a republic is meant to work, and the sooner American society establishes new basic rules for productive engagement between educated elites and the society around them, the better.
Experts need to remember, always, that they are the servants of a democratic society and a republican government. Their citizen masters, however, must equip themselves not just with education but also with the kind of civic virtue that keeps them involved in the running of their own country. Laypeople cannot do without experts, and they must accept this reality without getting angry. Experts, likewise, must accept that they get a hearing, not a veto, and that their advice will not always be taken.
At the present time, the bonds tying the system together are dangerously weakened. Unless some sort of trust and mutual respect can be restored, public discourse will be polluted by unearned respect for unfounded opinions. And in such an environment, anything and everything becomes possible, including the end of democracy and republican government itself.
-
democracy２ ( recorded by
Coffeemachtspass
),
American West Coast
Download
Unlock
Corrected Textmore↓Experts can only propose; elected leaders dispose. And politicians are very rarely experts on any of the innumerable subjects that come before them for a decision. By definition, nobody can be an expert on China policy and health care and climate change and immigration and taxation, all at the same time. That is why during, say congressional hearings on a subject, actual experts are usually brought in to advise the elected laypeople charged with making sound decisions. Americans too easily forget that the form of government under which they live was not designed for mass decisions about complicated issues. Neither, of course, was it designed for rule by a tiny group of technocrats or experts. Rather, it was meant to be the way by which an informed electorate could choose other people to represent them, come up to speed on important questions, and make decisions on the public’s behalf. The workings of such a representative democracy, however, are many times more difficult when the electorate is not competent to judge the matters at hand. Laypeople complain about the rule of experts and demand greater involvement in complicated national questions, but many of them express their anger and make these demands only after giving up their own important role in the process: namely, to stay informed and politically literate enough to choose representatives who can act wisely on their behalf. Ignorant voters end up punishing society at large for their own mistakes.Too few citizens today understand democracy to mean a condition of political equality in which all are able to vote and are equal in the eyes of the law. Rather, they think of it as a state of actual equality, in which every opinion is as good as any other, regardless of the logic or evidentiary base behind it. But that is not how a republic is meant to work, and the sooner American society establishes new basic rules for productive engagement between educated elites and the society around them, the better. Experts need to remember, always, that they are the servants of a democratic society and a republican government. Their citizen masters, however, must equip themselves not just with education but also with the kind of civic virtue that keeps them involved in the running of their own country. Laypeople cannot do without experts, and they must accept this reality without getting angry. Experts, likewise, must accept that they get a hearing, not a veto, and that their advice will not always be taken. At the present time, the bonds tying the system together are dangerously weakened. Unless some sort of trust and mutual respect can be restored, public discourse will be polluted by unearned respect for unfounded opinions. And in such an environment, anything and everything becomes possible, including the end of democracy and republican government itself.
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I accidentally said 'basis' instead of 'base'. I hope that that isn't a problem.