You’d think that a highly educated benevolent dictator could solve the problem of picking the right people for the club. They must be aiming for the discourse,

You’d think that a highly educated benevolent dictator could solve the problem of picking the right people for the club. They must be aiming for the discourse, rather than their own power though - so that they could pick people hated by themselves or the other members of the club, if those people are bringing something new to the table.