> This is a cop out: the electorate is still responsible for the politicians it puts in power.

I disagree. After reading about famous propagandists from the past century I'm just depressed that it's so easy to manipulate enough of the public to vote a particular way.

Yes, it's the people's fault - but the people are fallable and _predictable_ enough to be played like a puppet.

If someone is an idiot and is convinced into doing something criminal even when they know it's wrong, that still doesn't get the person who tricked them into doing it off-the-hook - in serious crimes that's called aiding-and-abetting.

Both can be true (and probably are). Yes, modern propaganda is odious, but also yes, don’t let us off the hook. At least while we feel responsible for our elections, we have some modicum of interest in them. I’ve seen countries where they’ve lost hope, who are democratic in name only. It’s not pretty.

> I’ve seen countries where they’ve lost hope, who are democratic in name only. It’s not pretty.

I'm curious about the list of countries that are democratic in name only (and also wondering about the time frames involved), would you elaborate?

The Democratic People’s Public of North Korea comes to mind.

The electorate doesn't vote on policy: it votes for people. People who are free to enact any policy they want while they are in office. The only consequence is not being elected a second time.