How much responsibilty lies with the electorate

Has democracy failed us precisely because of the incompetency of the electorate.? I think that is an excellent question. I think the electorate has a lot to answer for... We are part of a political causal chain. Super rich spending money like water to lobby and capture the political and intellectual elite. The political elite spending massive amounts of money on tv ads. The intellectual elite chasing money by writing what the super rich will sponsor and endorse.  A few scraps to the token opposition that is muzzled, sidelined and kept in obscurity. The journalistic elite kow towing to whatever the party line is from their bosses or they are out the door and marginalised.  This results in banal media where it is very difficult to find out a clear idea of what is actually happening in the world.   Bread and circuses instead of any real objective analysis of important issues.   A land of squaking parrots and chinese whispers that reinforces each others prejudices.   Concision and buzz words instead of real exploration of issues. Foucault I think his oblique argument, is that we are coerced by forces implicit with our place and class in society.  Whatever your profession or social class is has influence on the ways you speak, think and act.   An intellectual elite academic has tenure and the process of tenure influences and possibly restricts his actions and thoughts to allow him to get tenure.  For example if he thought that universities should not charge or limit students by previous grades.   Education should be free and for all doesn't really fit.  Or a doctor who thought medicine should be free at point of use, is not too likely to be employed in a commercial hospital in countries without universal healthcare. Shame on you USA.   The same for a judge or soldier.   These influences become internalised so individuals dont even notice them.  The same is true for journalists and academic students.  To become an undergrad people had to undergo a process of selection that was in itself coercive to certain implicit behaviours and thoughts.  To believe in the process of university education for a start.  Noam uses this argument against marr in this interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu1ONVg362o&feature=youtube_gdata_player I love seeing journalists being schooled by superior minds on their basic assumptions. Even those such as Michael Moore, Ron Paul, Noam  or other "free" thinkers,  we are all limited in thoughts by our class and professional experiences.  The best we can hope is to think outside the box to realise that we have been coerced to think certain thoughts.   For example,  de regulation is always good or "house prices will always rise". It's a form of group and self hypnosis.  Media propaganda has a lot to answer for with it's constant repetition of self selected news stories. It is in part a development of Rousseau's "man is born free but everywhere he is in chains" No matter how diverse and liberal  we think our society is.  If we look at it objectively there our viewpoints are a lot narrower than we think they are. We have to question our internalised assumptions or at least recognise them. One example Noam uses is the process journalists use in the free press to chooses which stories to broadcast and which ones to drop.  Even if they believe they are free to choose they are not. The documentary corporation tells the story of 2 journalists trying to broadcast a story about monsanto and a drug rBST.   If you live in America and drink milk you probably ingest this drug every day.  It's banned in europe and Canada for the risk of being too carcinogenic.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axU9ngbTxKw&feature=youtube_gdata_player Dilbert business ethics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTkltRfphM&feature=youtube_gdata_player Look your emcouraging morons to vote that cant possibly be good Pt2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds1NnDC18_4&feature=youtube_gdata_player Pt3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7XtDfzQamU&feature=youtube_gdata_player To let corporations inject their mind controlling  tendrils into universities and tv.  So no one can figure out left from right or right from wrong. To let dodgy politicians put in electronic voting systems and trust them not to mess with the results. Its a failure in terms of niave trust and programmed apathy.   Most people refuse to believe that many people can be so evil as to poison other people / children for a fast buck.