The elite run countries for their own benefit. There are plenty of people amongst the "populist" classes who are well educated and experts in their fields. It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other, so I don't think we should be rushing to your solution of ending democracy just yet! The yanks voted for "populist" policies, and they are reaping the rewards of an economic upturn, while the prior administration were focussed on rewarding themselves via all of their dodgy foundations.