Is populist elitism an oxymoron?

[coberst]

Is populist elitism an oxymoron?

 

Elite—a group of persons who by virtue of position or education exercise much power or influence

 

Populist—a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtue of the common people

 

I claim that a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtue of the common people who exercises much power or influence by virtue of his or her learning is a populist elitist.

 

It is obvious that there is a class of people who manage the government, who influence those that manage government, and who interpret it all to the voting public exists in the United States. Such a class is essential to the functioning of a liberal democracy.

 

Presently in the US this class of elite individuals consists primarily of ‘experts’. This class of experts “is inevitably so removed from common interests as to become a class with private interests and private knowledge, which in social matters is not knowledge at all.” The result, Dewey warns, is a democracy that risks both unaccountability and error. It is obvious to me that such a situation is no longer a risk but is a reality.

 

I offer, for consideration, a possible solution that will take much time to implement but will be the fastest solution available. I suggest that those adults, who can, begin the process of self-actualizing self-learning in order to become a populist elitist.