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Overcoming Bias : Elites Must Rule

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While I’ve spent much of my life doing institution/mechanism design, I’ve only lately come to see that, at least on prestigious topics, most people want relevant institutions to take the following ideal form: Masses recognize elites, who oversee experts, who pick details. While experts are known by other experts to be knowledgeable and skilled regarding particular topic areas, elites must be widely seen by the masses as having connections and features that are admirable and appropriate for leadership and governance roles. (More on experts vs elites.) For example, with democratic governance the voter masses elect politician elites, who appoint mixed-elite-expert agency heads, who oversee expert agency personnel, who choose details. And debates on who should get to vote can be seen as debates on voter eliteness. Long ago, it was seen as sufficient for the masses to recognize the natural eliteness of kings and aristocrats, who descended from or choose each other. You might think we are pa

While I’ve spent much of my life doing institution/mechanism design, I’ve only lately come to see that, at least on prestigious topics, most people want relevant institutions to take the following ideal form: Masses recognize elites, who oversee experts, who pick details. While experts are known by other experts to be knowledgeable and skilled regarding particular topic areas, elites must be widely seen by the masses as having connections and features that are admirable and appropriate for leadership and governance roles. (More on experts vs elites.) For example, with democratic…

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