[vintermann]

Smart and dumb is the wrong way to think about it. The important thing is that people want different things, there are real conflicts of interest.

And moreover, we can't trust each other fully. We can try to aspire to it, but none of us can honestly say we just want what's best for everyone.

Just because someone is smarter than you by some measure, doesn't mean you're better off letting them rule you.

[htag]

My comment on intelligence was directly in response to my parent comment's quote "Aside from that, people in aggregate just aren't that bright"

> We can try to aspire to it, but none of us can honestly say we just want what's best for everyone.

This is exactly why having anything approaching a ruling class is a large hazard to avoid. Intermediate steps between citizens voting and power being executed are an attack area for people with selfish interests to inject themselves.