• Wahots
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    20
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Without knowing his works, I’d argue for him that he’s right to some extent towards an uneducated population, BUT the reason we have universal suffrage is that our founding fathers assumed that:

    1. Everyone would be well-educated and make rational if not reasonable assumptions about politicians (eg, not elect morons who immediately try and sabotage the government, citizenry, and friends)

    2. Politicians would serve as public servants and would be even better educated and would work hard to brush up on things so that the common man wouldn’t have to learn the ins and outs of complicated decisions in terms of complex trade agreements, city planning and zoning law, and universal medical systems that work across state lines.

    Obviously, it didn’t quite go that way. But it’s why I’m such an advocate for good public schools and free education, because it pays itself back in spades when it comes to R&D/innovation and an informed populace who make the country and world a better place to live.

    • Kaity@leminal.space
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      They also put in “checks and balances” to ensure elitist rule anyways which we are seeing the fruits of.

    • bitcrafter@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      The founding fathers did not believe in universal suffrage; at the time only people who owned land could vote–to say nothing of even less privileged groups than that–and they were fine with that policy, in part because these were considered to be the people with the most skin in the game.