Brussels — The streets of Brussels hummed with the quiet tension of a world on edge, a palpable reminder of the global unrest that no capital could seem to escape. As Mark Rutte stood before NATO leaders, his eyes betrayed the weight of an old truth resurfacing in a new form: authority is crumbling, and the people are done waiting. “We must preserve Ukraine’s sovereignty,” he said, his voice steady but hollowed by a reality that anyone with eyes could see—the distance between the rulers and the ruled had grown too wide to ignore.
If you had asked me a decade ago if the world’s leadership was faltering, I might have paused, uncertain of how to answer. But now, the signs are impossible to miss. The gap between the governed and their governments isn’t just wide—it’s an unbridgeable chasm. It’s not just that we, the public, are angry; it’s that we’re tired of watching those who claim to lead us fumble, fail, and cling to outdated systems like a life raft in a sinking ocean.
Why Today’s Elites Are Struggling to Keep Up in a Digital World
It didn’t happen overnight. The fall of authority is slow, almost imperceptible—until suddenly, it’s everywhere, and you wonder how you didn’t see it coming. Elites used to have control, information at their fingertips, carefully curated and meticulously distributed. But today, information isn’t a slow trickle; it’s a tsunami. Social media, smartphones, the endless scroll of news—all of it moves faster than the traditional hierarchies built in the 20th century can handle.
Martin Gurri, former CIA media analyst, explains it like this: “The elites are too busy clinging to their old models of authority—models that worked when they controlled the flow of information. But now, the public is moving at the speed of light, and the elites are still stuck in their laborious hierarchies.” And here’s the kicker: the public knows it. We see the failures of our leaders in real-time, across every platform, with every misstep magnified and shared millions of times. The result? A public more skeptical and disillusioned than ever before.
The Public’s Rebellion: Why We’re Tired of Waiting for Change
There’s something primal about protest. It’s not just about making noise; it’s about demanding to be seen, to be heard, when every other avenue has failed. When you look at the anger spilling into the streets—from the chalecos amarillos in France to the mass protests against economic inequality in Argentina—you don’t just see rage; you see a deep sense of betrayal. We elected these leaders, after all. We gave them power. And what have they done with it? The same thing they’ve always done—keep it for themselves.
For many, this isn’t just a failure of leadership—it’s a moral failing. The elites, as Gurri puts it, are acting “like stars of a distant galaxy,” untouchable and unaccountable. And maybe that’s what stings the most. It’s not just that they’ve failed—it’s that they don’t even seem to care. The frustration is palpable. You can feel it bubbling up every time you open Twitter (or X, as we now call it) or scroll through TikTok. It’s not just a conversation happening in closed rooms or smoke-filled bars; it’s happening everywhere, all at once, across a million devices.
Longing for Leadership in Leaderless Age
But here’s where it gets tricky: we’re not just mad at our leaders. We’re mad at the whole system. And yet, we don’t know what to replace it with. It’s easy to tear down; it’s harder to build something new. This is the nihilism that Gurri speaks of in The Revolt of the Public—a public that is fed up with the status quo but lacks a unified vision for what comes next.
Take Brexit, for example. It was a rebellion, no doubt. A vote against the establishment. But what did it lead to? A fractured Britain, more uncertain of its future than ever before. Or look at the rise of populist leaders like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. They thrived on the public’s dissatisfaction, but once in power, they, too, failed to deliver the sweeping change their supporters longed for. It’s a cycle of disappointment, one that leaves us angrier and more disillusioned than before.
The New Authority: Rebuilding Trust in a Digital World
If the old systems are failing, what comes next? That’s the question we’re all grappling with. The answer, according to Gurri, isn’t about returning to the vertical power structures of the past. It’s about finding new ways to organize, new models of authority that reflect the horizontal, decentralized world we now live in. He argues that the new elites—if such a thing can even exist—must be those who earn admiration, not through status or title, but through transparency, competence, and genuine connection with the people they claim to serve.
This is the promise of the digital age, a world where power is more accessible, more immediate, and more democratic than ever before. Imagine a political system where you don’t just vote every four years but are engaged in the decision-making process every day—through referenda, direct input, and real-time accountability. It’s chaotic, yes. But it’s also hopeful. As Gurri says, “Democracy could be more democratic, more immediate, more equal than ever before.”
The Road Ahead: Will Elites Adapt or Fall?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: we’re living in a moment of profound transition. The old world, the one built on 20th-century hierarchies and carefully controlled information, is dying. But the new world, the one built on digital transparency and decentralized power, is still struggling to be born. In the meantime, we’re stuck in the middle, watching as the systems we once trusted crumble under the weight of their own obsolescence.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. There’s a chance—however slim—that today’s elites can adapt. They can step down from their ivory towers, engage with the public on a real, human level, and rebuild trust from the ground up. It won’t be easy. It won’t be comfortable. But if they don’t, they might find that the world moves on without them.
Rebuilding Authority in an Age of Discontent
At the end of the day, authority is about trust. And right now, that trust is broken. But it’s not beyond repair. We’re at a crossroads, and the choices we make now—both as citizens and as leaders—will determine the future of democracy in a digital age. The question is, are we ready to take that leap? Are our leaders ready to evolve, or will they continue to cling to the past, hoping that the world will slow down enough for them to catch up?
I’d like to believe we can rebuild. That we can take the lessons of this moment and use them to create something better. But I also know that change is hard. It’s messy. And it’s painful. Yet, as Gurri reminds us, out of this chaos, a new kind of authority could emerge—one that is more democratic, more equal, and more just than anything we’ve seen before.
