One theory of democracy’s purpose is to elect the “right” leaders. In this view, questions such as “Who is best equipped to lead this nation?” have a correct answer, and democracy is merely the most effective way to find that answer.
I think this is a very limiting view of instrumental goals of democracy. First, democracy has almost no chance of selecting the best leader—at best, it could help select a better one out of a limited set of options. Second, this ignores a key, IMHO the key, feature of democracy—keeping leaders accountable after they are elected. Democracy does not just start backsliding when a bad leader is elected, it starts backsliding when the allies of that leader become too willing to shield the “dear leader” from accountability.
Ensuring the leaders change is another important feature.
So what system selects the best leader out of the entire population?
None—as Churchill said, democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. Still, should be realistic when explaining the benefits.
I don’t. i think it’s weird to condemn democracy for failing to select the best leader out of the entire population, when all the alternatives are even worse.
I think this is a very limiting view of instrumental goals of democracy. First, democracy has almost no chance of selecting the best leader—at best, it could help select a better one out of a limited set of options. Second, this ignores a key, IMHO the key, feature of democracy—keeping leaders accountable after they are elected. Democracy does not just start backsliding when a bad leader is elected, it starts backsliding when the allies of that leader become too willing to shield the “dear leader” from accountability.
Ensuring the leaders change is another important feature.
So what system selects the best leader out of the entire population?
None—as Churchill said, democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. Still, should be realistic when explaining the benefits.
Why do you believe such a system could even exist in the first place?
I don’t. i think it’s weird to condemn democracy for failing to select the best leader out of the entire population, when all the alternatives are even worse.