Democracy is broken because people are ignorant and stupid. The general public is absolutely unfit to decide who is the best candidate to lead a government. Most people are idiots, who vote based on names and faces, based on manipulative words they see on TV, on whether they’d like to have a beer and chat with the person in question. You want proof? Arnold Schwarzenegger is the governor of California. A thick-skulled bodybuilder and actor with no political education leads the most populous state in the most powerful country in the world. Yes, my friends, democracy is a joke.
Socrates, get in here, we need your philosopher-led republic, and now.
I’m not saying democracy isn’t based on noble ideals. Giving equal power to everyone, etc., sounds great. But, like Communism, it just doesn’t seem to work out, at least not well enough. Unfortunately, Winston Churchill spoke the truth when he said “[...] Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
That is not to say, however, that we should stop thinking about how we could things better. We could start by treating our political positions more like other jobs; for example, I have never heard of a county that actually has any requirements for its presidency. How about, you know, a degree in political science? Or philosophy? A high school diploma?
There must be some way of making sure the most intelligent, most well-educated people run things, while still keeping the system fair and balanced. I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while.
