[tinkerdol]

>The mob is inherently irrational, stupid and over reactive

Any type of democracy relies on trusting the public to decide for themselves.

It is an old idea that education is the solution to this problem: "The commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty" -- inscribed outside the Boston Public Library, 1895.

[bsbechtel]

There is a big difference between relying on people to make decisions for themselves in domains of life that affect only them (i.e., personal decisions), and relying on people to make decisions for others. This debate is about how many people should have a voice in making decisions in government, but the more important question is what decisions should be made by government, regardless of how many people participate (though I would argue more is generally better than less).