Against the Technocrats

Over the past few years concerns about "unchecked" democracy and rule by the people have exploded—but such concerns have been around as long as democracy itself. While concerns about illiberalism, populism, and majoritarianism are certainly well-founded, blaming such phenomena on an "excess" of democracy is not. Such arguments rest on a fundamental misunderstanding of how liberal democracy has historically developed and how liberalism and democracy actually interact. Indeed, a deficit of democracy is more likely the problem.