Representative democracy only works when its delegation to expertise and officials is actually in place and…
Representative democracy only works when its delegation to expertise and officials is actually in place and functioning. That's why we invented it, to free most of us from the concerns of keeping things running. If the delegation isn't happening, nobody is flying the plane. /1 https://t.co/IJ2kjYbUNw
The vast majority of people think the pilots are up there, flying the plane. They assume things are being taken care of. (Unfortunately they think politicians are the pilots, more on that below). /2
In this analogy, politicians are actually more like the cabin crew, there to interact with the passengers/public. If you've worked in politics, you'll know 99% of the 'flying of the plane' is done by officials. They're the pilots. /3
Right now, if you talk to many, even most people, they're happy to allow politicians to determine what should happen, because they feel comfortable this hierarchical delegation process is in place and working. 'The experts know what they're doing'. /4
The problem is, this delegation process is specifically what populism destroys. Populist leaders are up in the cockpit, but they don't know what any of the buttons or dials do. But nearly everybody in the back of the plane - us - thinks there are pilots up the front. /5
You only have to look at the US and UK in the past 5-10 years to see that the pilots left the aircraft some time ago. Expertise deliberately sidelined, harassed, mocked. This is what actually wins elections, describing the pilots as 'elites'. /6
One way this is refracted in ordinary life is Covid restrictions. People who think the delegations to the pilots is still happening are happy to follow rules, to put a mask on if the law says they must etc. They don't want to think it out, they want to be told what to do. /7
Not because they're dumb or lazy, but because they think the delegation process is still functioning. 'Leave the pilots to fly the plane, they know what they're doing.' In my workplace, everybody except me took masks off, because 'the PHO no longer requires them'. /8
At first this puzzled and even angered me. But it's very clear to me now they think the rules are the pilots, flying the plane. As populism sweeps through our democracies, increasingly those planes are empty at the front. Dangerous times, with no clear way out. /end