EVERY INSTITUTION HAS BEEN CORRUPTED: Matthew Yglesias: Elite misinformation is an underrated problem: Important institutions are too eager to mislead people. “This strikes me as a shortsighted and pernicious way to think about the purpose of communicating with the public.”

“Shortsighted and pernicious” is a good shorthand for our ruling class, though I’d add “corrupt and incompetent” to the mix.