Who still believes in the people's ability to make sound choices based on their personal economic interests?

is this a non sequitir?

I've never believed this.

do you know what that means?

spelling error or not, the question stands.

A non sequitur (pronounced /ˌnɒnˈsiːkwɨtər or ˌnɒnˈsɛkwɨtər/) is a conversational and literary device, often used for comical purposes (as opposed to its use in formal logic). It is a comment which, due to its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows,[1] seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing, as in the following joke:

Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Fish.
The use of non sequitur in humor can be deliberate or unintentional. Literally, the expression is Latin for "it does not follow."[2] In other literature, a non sequitur can denote an abrupt, illogical, unexpected or absurd turn of plot or dialogue not normally associated with or appropriate to that preceding it. It is a type of logical fallacy.

The non sequitur can be understood as the converse of cliché. Traditional comedy and drama can depend on the ritualization and predictability of human emotional experiences, where the Theatre of the Absurd uses disjunction and unpredictability. The New Yorker magazine is popular for their use of non sequitur one-liners in their comics.

Well if you know what it means, shouldn't you be able to answer the question yourself?

you're really not into having fun are you

but one's belief that people can make decisions based on their personal economic interest seems pretty unrelated to the concept of aristocracy.

I love to have fun, but I've been done playing games with you in this forum for a while now.

And actually, it's very much related to it. Essentially related to it, in fact. If you can't understand why, LOL.

yeah, i forgot the first rule of logic is to make your argument without laying out anything to support it.

you're a douchebag

this is a thread. to discuss the topic of the thread. i didn't make an argument. so discuss or stfu.

discuss what? whether people can make decisions about what is in their interest? of course they can make decisions about what they perceive to be in their best interest.

you're asserting that aristocracy is related to that question you posed but not giving any basis for why.

what do you think? maybe start with the thread title?

also,

you don't even read. you're just a contrary smartass who thinks its clever. if you wanted to participate or contribute to this thread, you could easily do so, but instead you wanna be a jackass. which is why i respond to your posts with as much effort and thought as you put into them.

ok, ill play this game.

democracy - based on peoples ability to make choices, preferably good ones

given a failure of people to make good choices, one wonders how better choices can be made

aristocracy - based on people who are better equipped to make good choices

i know, that's a really tough connection.

arent you a poli-sci major? lol

of course they can make sound choices. person a says: "hey, we can afford this house and not this other one, so we're going to buy this one, and not this other one." maybe person b said "well if i put 5% down instead of 20%, agree to an ARM at a rate i won't be able to afford if it shoots up, and end up paying for the house longer i can get this house now, and well that rate won't go up and houses now are cheaper than they'll ever be, market analyst on tv says, i guess i'll buy it." so maybe one person makes a sound choice and another doesn't. but yes, people can do so.

i have yet to see any evidence that wealthier people are better able to make wise decisions, either, in general. the "elite" made a lot of mistakes that led to the economic crisis we're in currently.

aristocracy as distinct from oligarchy or plutocracy

it's not the rule of the wealthy, it's the rule of the few (the best, the wisest)

Who decides who's best?

well the most obvious way is to begin to restrict who has the right to vote and who has the right to hold office. you could start with education level.