Maybe the public needn't understand, or vote on what "is" - but they can vote on what "ought" to be.
They cannot vote that every bus be on time - this isn't guaranteed to be possible, nor should politicians imply it could be. But they can set the priority, and % of the budget, allocated to improving bus times.
You cannot vote that the sky is green, or that 2 + 2 =5; but you can dictate that society be governed as if these things are true. You can't dictate results: that all endeavours are successful, all wars won; but you can say what endeavours are budgeted, wars are fought - and what resources are allocated to them.
The problem is that informed framing is so hard that this isn't always possible without truth being held hostage by motivated gatekeepers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is%E2%80%93ought_problem
Maybe the public needn't understand, or vote on what "is" - but they can vote on what "ought" to be.
They cannot vote that every bus be on time - this isn't guaranteed to be possible, nor should politicians imply it could be. But they can set the priority, and % of the budget, allocated to improving bus times.
You cannot vote that the sky is green, or that 2 + 2 =5; but you can dictate that society be governed as if these things are true. You can't dictate results: that all endeavours are successful, all wars won; but you can say what endeavours are budgeted, wars are fought - and what resources are allocated to them.
The problem is that informed framing is so hard that this isn't always possible without truth being held hostage by motivated gatekeepers.