In the first two chapters we have identified fundamental weaknesses in contemporary democracy: the lack of a political culture in which citizens can deliberate effectively and the presence of mass media which undermines public trust in politics per se. These two profoundly disturbing tendencies contribute to a third aspect of democratic dysfunction: a pervasive sense of disconnection between most elected representatives (politicians) and most represented citizens. As one former Leader of the U.K. House of Commons has astutely observed:

In theory, political representatives are supposed to speak for the people they represent. ‘Speaking for’ becomes necessary when citizens are physically, culturally or cognitively removed from the locus of public decision-making and their interests, preferences and values have to be expressed via an aggregating intermediary.