Edward Feser on why democracies gives rise to a higher proportion of bull-shit:

“…. as any reader of Plato’s critique of democracy in The Republic knows, the democratic ethos — with its pretence that all the views and ways of life prevalent in a pluralistic society be regarded as worthy of equal respect — inevitably tends toward bullshit.  A politician who spoke with complete frankness — who said exactly what he thought about those views and ways of life among his fellow citizens that he didn’t share, which is bound to be most of them — would never get elected, and would no doubt tick off most of those people who claim they want politicians to speak frankly. Frankfurt calls attention himself to one way in which democracy breeds bullshit:

“Bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever a person’s obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic are more excessive than his knowledge of the facts that are relevant to that topic. This discrepancy is common in public life, where people are frequently impelled — whether by their own propensities or by the demands of others — to speak extensively about matters of which they are to some degree ignorant. Closely related instances arise from the widespread conviction that it is the responsibility of a citizen in a democracy to have opinions about everything, or at least everything that pertains to the conduct of his country’s affairs. The lack of any significant connection between a person’s opinions and his apprehension of reality will be even more severe, needless to say, for someone who believes it his responsibility, as a conscientious moral agent, to evaluate events and conditions in all parts of the world.”