Claim Major policy decisions should always be left to politicians and other government experts Reason Politicians and other government experts are more informed and thus have better judgment and perspective than do members of the general public

Democracy is the system of governance by the entire population where they exercise control through elected representatives. The proposition that major policy decisions to be left to politicians and other government experts due to their better understanding and perspective amounts to undermine the very objective of a democratic system. However, government officials have the entrusted duty to lead the people with their judgement and knowledge in the best interest of the nation. Hence, while they must consider will of the people on matters directly related to them; they should also rely on personal or professional opinions tp formulate major policies when the public will is contrary to the overall interest of the country.

Any Government is a multidimensional complex functioning entity whose decisions have a direct bearing on public life and national welfare. When people vote a Government to power after, say, an economic crisis, corruption scandal of failure of state machinery; they have certain expectations regarding healthcare, sanitation, job opportunities, fuel prices, etc. The Government, then, has a responsibility entrusted on it by the democracy to meet these expectations. Many times, these issues may not seem as relevant or important to the bureaucracy as they are to the people. There may be instances when the officials are willing to invest on a space program in the face of high unemployment or to invest in building a fly-over instead of a hospital when there is an epidemic. Such situations may result in a discord between people and the authority, at times, manifesting in the form of protests, violent agitations or riots thus endangering the social fabric of the state. Therefore, Government officials must consider opinion of general public and their involvement on issues directly affecting them.

However, on many instances, the will of the people may be contrary to the interest of the country. For example, when a curfew or restriction on free movement is imposed due to a terrorist attack or national emergency, people may want them removed regardless of the importance of the step for the security of the state. Or there may be certain tribes willing to settle in environmentally conserved area, thus, threatening the local flora and fauna. Moreover, people may not be well-informed or knowledgeable on some sensitive issues such as defence or foreign policy to form credible opinions. Thus, in these cases, for the security and well-being of the country, officials must certainly rely on their own judgment instead of unquestioningly following public demands.

Furthermore, depending upon the cultural background or education level, public opinion might be tainted by some unethical beliefs of the day. For example, during Lincoln’s reign, the whites believed that the blacks are psychologically inferior to them and that slavery was their natural state. Or in colonial India, child marriage was the norm f the day. Had the contemporary Governments unquestioningly followed the will of the people to make relevant policies, the respective countries would have never evolved into civilized states as they boast today.

However, there may be certain areas such as education, allocation of research funds, child and women rights, etc. where policy making requires unbiased domain expertise. The Government officials and other experts may either be as clueless on these areas as the ordinary multitude or they may hold vested interests. On these areas, therefore, they must invoke external professional consultation instead of relying in addition to personal judgment and public opinion.

In conclusion, the binary recommendation for the politicians or government experts to either depend upon own judgement or on public opinion is inappropriate. Excessive reliance of officials on personal judgment may foster autocratic decisions while unquestioningly toadying to public might pave for ‘populism’. While on matters directly affecting the public life, their opinion must be considered; otherwise, on sensitive issues, Government officials and experts must rely on personal or professional judgment for policy making for the overall welfare of the country.