Malarkey

Back in the old days, people didn't know enough about the world to make informed decisions. So their representatives, supposedly men of pragmatism, made those decisions for the people.

Our problem is that our "independent individualists", our pragmatist men-of-thought-and-action who have stepped up to Make The Common Sense Decisions for the Ignorant Masses, are just as ignorant - in their own way - as the most backwoods hillbilly that Appalachia could produce. They can't make informed decisions, either. Therefore, we're all screwed.