They are thus disarmed when confronted by political people who consider evidence, data and reasoning to be mere conveniences and optional. And a republic’s challenge is to increase the likelihood that the many will consent to governance by worthy elites. And it is not that they do not know what they do not know. Rather, it is that they do not know what it is to know something. The republican form of government rests on representation: The people do not decide issues, they decide who will decide.

Source: Washington Post January 28, 2017 00:27 UTC