Anti-Climacus

IN WHICH MR. YAROCH STUMBLES ACROSS THE THESIS OF REALIST DEMOCRATIC THEORY: here:

"Democracy is supposed to affirm the dignity and rational nature of all citizens by allowing them to hold their rulers accountable. In reality, large-scale democracy promotes elitist thinking. When we consider voters as an aggregate, as we do, they seem like a pliable mass that candidates must attempt to channel, rather than people who are equal to their leaders and the intellectual elite. (Naturally, political commentators consider themselves part of the elite.)"

Which is half-right, I think--people actually tend to affiliate themselves to parties before other sectional groups (with some exceptions). And the cold, hard fact is that most voters, when it comes to political issues, do happen to know less about the relevant topics than political leaders or other people who have to professionally follow these things. I also follow Prof. Achen in believing that you can make too much out of the fact that most people don't follow politics. Our hierarchy generally runs politics->everything else, but I'm not sure that's in any way superior to a preference order that runs everything else->politics.