Washingtontimes.com
Paul Craig Roberts
Are democracies democratic? Or do elites determine political outcomes regardless of majority opinion?
Look at last weekend's massive anti-war rally in London. Random interviews with participants revealed many were first-time marchers who were protesting not merely war, but Prime Minister Tony Blair's habit of running roughshod over British opinion. Marchers oppose Mr. Blair going to war against Iraq without a vote. But they also oppose Mr. Blair cramming massive Third World immigration down their throats and signing away British sovereignty to the European Union.
No longer perceived as "New Labor," Mr. Blair is now perceived as an anti-democrat who is a threat to British identity.
In a recent report from the Center for Immigration Studies, Roy Beck and Steven Camarota document an equally large divergence between elite and public opinion in the U.S. The gap is enormous on immigration. The latest national poll by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations found 60 percent of the American public regard the present level of immigration to be a "critical threat to the vital interests of the United States." In contrast, only 14 percent of elites — members of Congress, the administration, leaders of church groups, business executives, union leaders, journalists, academics, and heads of major interest groups — share the public's concern.
Posted by Suzanne at February 24, 2003