Rediscovering a Dynamic Elite? (opens in new tab)

If we have decided that democracy cannot literally mean the rule of the people and has to be redefined, then there is no particular reason why we must accept democratic elites’ openness, mobility, or adherence to some ideals of historical progress to be the key elements of a redefined democracy today. Democracy, once decoupled from the idea of the people ruling, might rather mean that the inevitable elite rules effectively on the people’s behalf. Once we are no longer bound to narratives that...