The Paradox of the American Popular Vote in the 2016 Elections: The Failure of the New "Epistocratic Democracy?"

Abstract

This paper argues for the formation, during the U.S. presidential elections in 2016, of a hybrid „epistocratic democracy” sustained by politically competent elites who defend the interests of the most disadvantaged groups. The winning of the popular vote by the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton supports the hypothesis that if the populist and illiberal political rhetoric gained electoral support and led to Donald Trump’s election, this process has triggered, at the same time, the reactive emergence of an „epistocratic democracy” which gets stronger through the democratic protests against Trump’s policies and their racist undertones.

Keywords

• epistocracy
• democracy
• educated voters
• minorities
• populism
• le bon sauvage
• elites