So the plutocrats will protect us from the majority? :)
Obviously we need constitutional rights and bureaucrats to implement the will of the people as expressed in the polls. But why do we need representatives? Do you really think eg a Tea Party representative will protect Muslims from the majority better than the first amendment and courts?
"So the plutocrats will protect us from the majority? :)"
No. The lesson, as usual, is that extremes rarely work out for us. The plutocrats will screw us if totally in control. So will politicians if they can get money from them or special interest groups. So will democracy if something horrible is trending in popularity. As usual, the solution will be a compromise between various points in the design space with more effective checks on various interactions and risks each pose to each other. I can't tell you what that design will be but looking for it is best investment with these things.
"Do you really think eg a Tea Party representative will protect Muslims from the majority better than the first amendment and courts?"
The First Amendment is subject to interpretation by representatives and/or courts. Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth have seriously been watered down. They're among the best examples of the risk. A politician can outlast the media fervor of the moment, get advise from well-informed people, and have teams check the side effects of the law. The current situation exists because apathetic democracy allows them to get away with not doing that. Also, passing laws in exchange for bribes. That could all be stopped with enough voter action followed by legislation or alternative models. The benefits of representational democracy remain.
I'm not saying I believe it's the best system. I'm just saying plutocrats and mobs cause lots of problems it can prevent with less effort than constantly outsmarting plutocrats or fighting mobs. So, it's a consideration.
The current situation exists because apathetic democracy allows them to get away with not doing that. Also, passing laws in exchange for bribes.
Or it exists because it is an emergent phenomenon that arises eventually. An increasingly polarized two-party system where each primary race is rigged against outsiders and voters are scared to vote third-party because each candidate is super scary to the opposing party. It's bound to happen eventually. In this case it happened in the US presidential race. And Congress has long had a 10% approval rating. One can make up reasons as to why it happened or accept that a representative democracy eventually reaches such states, and it's not clear how to get out of them with more representative democracy. Trying the same thing and expecting a different result.
I'm not saying I believe it's the best system.
Exactly, and I'm saying it's not. It's easier to fool all of the people some of the time (eg during elections) or heavily influence some the people all of the time (as lobbyists for special interests do) but you can't fool all the people all the time. That is far more expensive.
Once again ask yourself: are eg Muslim and Mexican US citizens safer if Donald Trump gets elected and magnifies the desire of those who elected him, or if the population at large was polled for policy? Are the people of Gaza better off under Hamas because they were democratically elected once by those who showed up? Would the Nazis ever get into power if there were no representative positions to get into? Besides gerrymandering, poor voter turnout and other major problems, representative democracy eventually gives a giant hammer to some special interest or other.
Obviously we need constitutional rights and bureaucrats to implement the will of the people as expressed in the polls. But why do we need representatives? Do you really think eg a Tea Party representative will protect Muslims from the majority better than the first amendment and courts?