Democracy is hard work. And as society’s “elites”—experts and public figures who help those around them navigate the heavy responsibilities that come with self-

Democracy is hard work. And as society’s “elites”—experts and public figures who help those around them navigate the heavy responsibilities that come with self-rule—have increasingly been sidelined, citizens have proved ill equipped cognitively and emotionally to run a well-functioning democracy. As a consequence, the center has collapsed and millions of frustrated and angst-filled voters have turned in desperation to right-wing populists...He has concluded that the reason for right-wing populists’ recent success is that “elites” are losing control of the institutions that have traditionally saved people from their most undemocratic impulses. When people are left to make political decisions on their own they drift toward the simple solutions right-wing populists worldwide offer: a deadly mix of xenophobia, racism and authoritarianism. This is really total nonsense. That doesn't sound the end of democracy to me, that sounds like democracy in action. He just don't want the rule by elites in the guise of democracy to end. There's nothing anti-democratic about these policies he's tarring as "racist" and "authoritarian", which I assume would be things like stopping illegal immigration or securing one's country's territorial integrity (which, by the way, don't even ever happen due to the intervention of elites). But I guess he finds these things self-evident. That isn't good enough for me.