Quora Answer: Would a Pure Democracy Where Citizens Vote on All Government Policies Theoretically Work?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Would a pure democracy where citizens get to vote on all government policies theoretically work?” 

That is a terrible idea.  The average citizen is an idiot.  They are ignorant of the finer points of government policies, and the consequences of supporting or rejecting them.  There would be immediate chaos, and the breakdown of order.  Some people are meant to rule; most people are meant to be ruled.  The average citizen will only vote out for their immediate self-interest.  This would result in a government that has no ability to plan long-term.  People cannot see beyond their immediate needs, and governance would devolve into an idiocracy that is ruled by the tyranny of majority. 

Another point of consideration is that the larger the crowd, the lower the intelligence.  People would be moved by emotive arguments, and demagogues would be able to whip up the electorate against a litany of perceived enemies of the people.  People would be moved by the emotions of the moment to vote against their self-interest, and eventually vest more and more power in a person or party, resulting in a form of dictatorship or authoritarianism. 

There is no such thing as a pure democracy, and such a form of government is absolutely untenable.  What we have are limited democracies, where people vote for their representatives, or slate of representatives, and expect them to do the thinking and business of government for them.  Ultimately, people do not want democracy.  They want enough freedom to pursue their activities of living, but not so much that other people pursuing their own activities of living annoy them.  So they compromise, and they call it security or stability, or whatever is the catch phrase of the day.  As long as authoritarian governments are able to provide that security, economic growth, new jobs, entertain them, and identify enemies of the system, people are satisfied.