HOW DEMOCRATIC IS OUR DEMOCRACY ?

Tony Blair tells us that we, the people, got it wrong over Brexit; he wants us to understand that he's much more intelligent than we are and that he knows what's best for us.

Richard Dawkins, on BBC radio today, complained about people making decisions based on 'gut feeling' rather than on known facts. The discussion also included reference to Brexit regarding which Dawkins reckoned that too many on both sides of the argument had probably cast their votes on the basis of 'gut feeling' rather than facts about what Brexit would mean. However, he also made it clear that he considered the outcome of the vote to be disastrous for the country, as was the outcome of the US Presidential election.

Both Blair and Dawkins, as well as many others among the elite, firmly believe that they know better than the bulk of the population. They consider themselves blessed with knowledge and insight that the rest of us lack; basically, we rely on 'gut feeling' to make decisions and are too stupid to understand what's going on or to make 'the right' judgements about important matters.

What Blair, Dawkins and the rest are really saying is that they don't like democracy because it can produce the 'wrong' answers. By asking the mass of the population what they want, it risks upsetting the status quo from which those at the top of the pile benefit hugely. What the elite wants is a vast flock of sheep who will simply keep quiet and do as they're told; what they don't want is for the population to ignore the advice of their self-appointed 'betters' and take a contrary approach. This is one reason why they only hold referendums when they are both confident of the outcome and the anticipated outcome  is something that they want anyway. The Brexit referendum was a huge miscalculation that will probably ensure it's the only one of its kind ever held. So much for the 'will of the people'.

Admittedly, when the Greeks invented democracy some 2,500 years ago, life was much simpler and politics more basic. Nonetheless, we either live in a democracy in which the will of the people prevails or we don't. Which is it ?