Let's look at a modern day example right now in congress their debating a bill about energy policy and climate change.
The Democrats (The intellectual educated elites) says global warming is damaging our planet and we need to force people to switch to green energy and conservation, which in the long run will save our society money. People who switch to hybrids and insulate their houses now will be able to earn that money back in savings over the long run.
The Republicans (The common people) say that may be true but if your hit hard by the recession, and are scraping by, where are they going to get the money for all of this energy efficient stuff? People can't change their whole lives on the promise that they might possibly,maybe, be slightly better off in the future.
It's an argument between who should be running the government the people who are knowledgeable but out of touch or the people who know what real life is like but may be unable to see the big picture.
Note this is not to say Republicans are dumb or Democrats are out of touch it's merely an example of how policy is debated. It's my belief that all of the government comes from the wealthy elite, it's merely which group of lobbyists get represented.
