Despite its flaws, a system in which elected officials are held publicly accountable and can be voted out of office is still preferable to rule by tycoons or technocrats. And, sometimes, radical changes are made, even in democracies, though a severe crisis often is required to mobilize voters behind a collective push for essential reform, as was true of the Great Depression in the 1930’s, which led to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
尽管有各种各样的缺陷，但当选官员需受公众问责，并有可能被选民选下台的制度仍比大亨或技术官僚治国的制度好。此外，有时候，即使是民主国家也会发生重大变化，尽管动员选民为推动必要改革齐心协力往往需要以严重危机为契机，20世纪30年代导致罗斯福新政的大萧条便是显例。