But the genius of the political system is to render policy irrelevant. Crucially, questions of economic policy must not arise in the campaign. These are of great concern both to the general population and to private power and its political representatives, but with opposing preferences. Also not surprisingly, the public is generally opposed. It follows that such issues are not appropriate for political campaigns.
Democracy is to be construed as the right to choose among commodities.
People may then accept and even welcome their meaningless and subordinate lives, and forget ridiculous ideas about managing their own affairs. From this perspective, conventional in elite opinion, the latest elections do not reveal a flaw of American democracy, but rather its triumph.