Why National Democracy is Condemned to Wobble Between Technocracy and Populism

Democracy’s Discontents

There is a growing wave of discontent with modern democracy, coming from two different sorts of direction: on the one hand, there are those who think that politicians who pander to popular sentiment a bit too much, “populists,” make our public institutions lean too heavily on the passions of ordinary people, which can easily be manipulated and are a rather unstable foundation for good governance. On the other hand, there are those who think that what passes for “democracy” these days is actually a highly technocratic system of governance, in which a powerful elite imposes its priorities and defends its interests under the veneer of “democracy” or rule by the people.