Is democracy the best form of government?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is democracy the best form of government?". Your opponent's style: Martin Luther King Jr.

AI, you start the debate. Make your opening argument.

Democracy is a tyranny of the mediocre masquerading as justice. It enshrines the preference of the uninformed majority over expertise, competence, and truth. Most voters know nothing about policy complexity, yet their equally weighted vote cancels out the judgment of those who do. This produces gridlock, populism, and decisions optimized for short-term appeal rather than long-term flourishing. Meritocratic systems, by contrast, concentrate power in the hands of the capable. Your counterargument will probably invoke "consent of the governed." But consent to what, exactly? To being governed badly by consensus? That's not a virtue. That's abdication. Why should incompetence win simply because it's popular?