When Anton Chekhov was asked about the nature of failing societies, he was quoted as saying:
“In failing societies, there are a thousand fools for every enlightened mind, and a thousand crude words for every conscious word. The majority remains ignorant, and the reasonable man is constantly defeated.
“If you see trivial topics dominating discussions and fools taking centre stage, you are in the presence of a very failing society.
“For example, songs and meaningless lyrics find millions of people to dance to them and repeat them, and the singer becomes famous, known and loved, to the point that people seek his opinion on matters of society and life.
“As for writers and authors, no one knows them and no one gives them value or weight. Most people love futility and anaesthesia. Someone who anaesthetises us to distance us from our thoughts, and someone who makes us laugh with trivialities, is better than someone who wakes us to reality and hurts us by telling the truth.
“That is why democracy is not suitable for ignorant societies, because it is the ignorant majority who will decide your fate.”
— The Literary World