JAMES BOVARD
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Playboy
June 1999
HEADLINE: ATTENTION DEFICIT DEMOCRACY. James Bovard
BODY:
"Rather than 'government by the people,' we now have 'attention deficit democracy.' Less than half of the voters show up at the polls; less than half of the voters who do show up understand the issues.
Politicians themselves are often unaware of what lurks in the bills they vote for. The larger government becomes, the less democratic it will tend to be, simply because people become less able to comprehend and judge the actions of their rulers. The great issue for modern democracy is whether politicians can fool enough of the people enough of the time to continue expanding their power over everyone."
-From James Bovard's new book, Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen (St. Martin's Press)