We're of the same mind on a lot of things. ;) Watching recent history, I have a sneaking suspicion these same issues are why democratic nation-building has bee

We're of the same mind on a lot of things. ;) Watching recent history, I have a sneaking suspicion these same issues are why democratic nation-building has been such a failure. Expecting a country to transition from 0 to democracy in one generation is probably impossible. Especially when it becomes apparent that even elder democracies are mostly held together by the strength of their institutions in times of strain. Democracy works if everyone is educated, but as you pointed out, encounters substantial issues when (a) the problems at hand are too complex to be understood or (b) the knowledgeable vote (on both+ sides) is drowned out by an easily-swayed vote (e.g. for passion-arousing issues like free trade or immigration). If I were attempting to build a democracy, I'd instead attempt to compress ~1000 years of European history into ~100 years of gradual government transformation. But probably start with a monarchy...