No, Neil deGrasse Tyson, We Don't Get the Democracy We Deserve, We Get the Democracy Our Elites Give Us

Blaming the voters only serves to indemnify the rich. We should stop doing it.

By Adam Johnson

Recently at a graduation ceremony for seniors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the brilliant scientist and public commentator Neil deGrasse Tyson delivered a not-so-smart thought:

"It has become a pastime to blame politicians for the ills of the world. I understand the urge to do that ... but at the end of the day, the politician is a representative of an electorate. If you have an issue with politicians it's because you have an issue with your fellow citizens who put them there."

This statement couldn’t be any more false, the logic any more toxic. It’s a sentiment that dates back centuries but was most famously summed up by the 18th-century French writer Joseph de Maistre, who said, “In a democracy people get the leaders they deserve.” It’s a popular cliche. There’s only one problem: decades of research tell us it’s untrue.