We should be wary of leaving political decisions to experts and technocrats. Lisa Jardine asks if someone is an expert in their field, does that make them the right person to run a country?

If their field is running a country, then yes, it does.

People like to complain that putting experts in charge of the government is dangerous because they are disconnected from average people. As this BBC article says, “The rule of a few wise men is oligarchy, not democracy.” But the problem is not experts themselves, it’s that it’s very difficult to become an expert in running a country. That doesn’t mean there is reason to mistrust experts in general.