"who would reject a thoroughly rational - and therefore ethical, egalitarian, ecological, etc. - form of governance?"

No values are rational.
From a purely rational point of view, there is not even a reason why we ought be allowed to live, let alone to pursue our dreams and aspirations.
Rationality and logic can only be applied over pre-existing (but irrational) values... over which there is no general agreement.

Back to square one!

Well, we know that the pursuit of reason has been responsible for the most deaths throughout human history so it's a bit of a non-starter.
However, it seems the failure of democracies is because a globalist elite are trying to centralise nations that desperately need to be decentralised.

Without the benefit of hindsight, selecting the wise is nigh on impossible.

Well, what do you know. An academic who wants a council of wise thinkers, academics of course, to chose who is to rule us. Can you imagine the catastrophe? You only have to look at some of the choices for the Nobel Prize to see how stupid academics are when let loose. Hell they even chose Obama.

Then a tirade about Trump, the only good choice the yanks have made since Reagan. Obviously he is worried some of the billions thrown over the upturned hands of academia may be thrown elsewhere, with a more switched man at the helm.

Then the bit about Trump not winning the popular vote. No mention that research conducted into just who voted, found some 5 million illegals, non citizens, not entitled to vote had done so, in an attempt to get Hillary elected. Amazingly, with the electoral college, it didn't work.

I suggest you hang on to your hat next time around Dr Mark Manolopoulos, even id Trump doesn't totally cure the illegals problem, you will be facing a landslide in his direction.

the quicker the swamp is drained the better. Dummy spitters who claim to reject fundamentalist religion and hold to the gw fantasy and then reject the will of the people. Lets see who we could have on his little dictorial panel Gillian Triggs, Obama, George Soros, Angela Merkel, Macron, Trudea?

As was once said.....when a society starts to become complicated you know it's going in the wrong direction and a war is inevitable