A hard-fought election campaign.

I'm ready to announce the winner.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

NARRATOR: The School of Life is sending

some of YouTube's most popular creators

on a series of field trips,

to explore some of philosophy's most intriguing ideas.

This time...

♪ I be the one they love I be the don

♪ They know where I'm from

♪ 01 to the 21, yo bredrin

♪ Where has your hairline gone? ♪

Lady Leshurr, a rapper and content creator

is taking time out from her day job

to show that the great thing about democracy

is that absolutely anyone can run for office.

And the terrible thing about democracy

is that absolutely anyone could end up in power.

LADY LESHURR: I'm at a school in South London.

I'm about to go into a mini election.

And I'm trying to get the kids to vote for me,

to get me into power.

Before we get started,

here's a short guide to democracy.

NARRATOR: A 60-second guide to democracy.

Democracy is the most perfect system of government ever invented.

It's also delivered some of the worst decisions ever made.

It was the ancient Greeks who had the democracy light-bulb moment.

But Socrates,

one of its most famous thinkers,

thought it was a stupid and dangerous idea.

Because the choice made by the people

could only ever be as good

as the intelligence and education of the people.

Would you want the course of a ship you were sailing on

to be decided by an experienced sea captain

or left off to everyone

who just happened to be onboard, he asked.

Good point.

Because while a properly-operated democracy

would always deliver the result that the majority wants,

whether that's the right result

is another question entirely.

After all, we're flawed and fickle beings

who can easily be bribed, tricked or charmed

into choosing things which are bad for us.

And in an age of fake news, social media and big data,

that's truer now than ever.

So, might it be better if we weren't calling all the shots?

You decide.

Actually, maybe don't.

Democracy is a great idea in theory.

But the quality of the outcome

depends on the voters understanding the choices they're making.

It's the hype in the buzz of a party

that will make people be persuaded.

A lot of things are based on popularity.

It's a popularity contest.

But I've got a few tricks up my sleeves to persuade them.

NARRATOR: In her bid for power,

Lady Leshurr will be going head-to-head

against the people who know the children best,

their teachers.

Head of Maths, Mr. Beazley.

And head of languages, Ms. Smerald.

Now is the time where we actually

have to meet our political rival.

[CHILDREN CHEERING]

NARRATOR: The kids have no reason to think that Lady Leshurr,

a rapper with zero experience of running a school,

will be a better candidate than their teachers.

But on the level playing field of democracy,

both she and her rivals

will be presenting their manifestos.

Up first is Mr. Beazley.

...education is the most important factor

in shaping young people's lives.

So, we will continue setting regular homework,

-so that you can continue learning... -[CHILDREN EXCLAIMING]

...even when you're at home.

-[CHILDREN BOOING] -[LADY LESHURR LAUGHING]

-That's boring. -[CHILDREN LAUGHING]

I want to give you guys no uniforms.

[CHILDREN CHEERING LOUDLY]

I want you guys to have your phone on deck whenever you want.

[CHEERING LOUDLY]

NARRATOR: Next up for the teachers, Ms. Smerald.

...English, maths, science.

As the world changes,

they are more important than ever.

[CHILDREN BOOING]

[LADY LESHURR LAUGHING]

LADY LESHURR: I want more exciting lessons.

So, instead of maths,

why don't we replace that

-with a gaming room. -[INAUDIBLE ]

Instead of art class, we're going to do make-up.

[CHEERING]

BEAZLEY: We will be providing extra tutorials with teachers,

even during breaks

-and after school. -[CHILDREN BOOING LOUDLY]

LADY LESHURR: And last but not least,

I feel we need longer breaks for you people.

Later starts and earlier finishes.

-GIRL: Yeah! -What does that sound like?

[CHILDREN CHEERING LOUDLY]

If this is a better option to these guys,

then please vote for me.

[CHEERING]

NARRATOR: With manifestoes presented,

the campaign can begin.

Lady Leshurr is running a fresh, colorful, glossy campaign

which focuses on style over substance.

This is in total contrast to the teachers' approach.

LADY LESHURR: Just giving the kids couple of t-shirts and lollipops,

I can persuade them to vote for me.

So, goes to show it's a popularity contest.

So, everybody gets one vote.

NARRATOR: We like to believe that we are rational beings

who make only logical decisions.

But election results are affected by a range of factors

that show we can be anything but rational.

All the votes are in and counted.

Who have the kids decided to elect?

Right, this is the moment you've all been waiting for.

A hard-fought election campaign.

I'm ready to announce the winner.

With 86% of the vote...

-Lady Leshurr. -LADY LESHURR: Yeah!

[CHEERING LOUDLY]

NARRATOR: Even Lady Leshurr is surprised

by the size of her landslide victory.

And she's keen to understand

why so few of the children voted for the teachers.

Why do you think only six people voted for the teachers, though?

Only six people wanted to realize that fun's later

and education's now.

-I know being 15, it's all about fun. -LADY LESHURR: Yeah.

But those six people, they've knuckled down,

and they know what they want.

People our age, it's all the things we'd rather have,

but we know that it's not the things that we need,

even though that's the things that we want.

I love that. Come on, we need to give a little clap.

NARRATOR: We might all be wise to think carefully

before making our choices.

History is full of examples

of democratically-elected candidates

who cast their election promises aside,

-once they got into power. -[INAUDIBLE]

I've just turned up.

First day that you guys have met me.

You've known these teachers for years now,

and a lot of you chose to side with me.

And the reality is I'm not gonna give you nothing.

♪ Bruh ♪

LADY LESHURR: I just gave you broken promises,

to see how people were gonna vote for me,

just giving out lollies and being funny

and being more relatable.

But reality is, a lot of the time,

we don't know what we're voting for.

NARRATOR: Getting the most votes

doesn't always mean being the best candidate.

Too often we're left to ask, "Did the right party win?"

Or just the party with the biggest party and the loudest voice?

[RAPPING INDISTINCTLY]

[ALL CHEERING]

NARRATOR: There's no guarantee that the decision of the majority

will be a good or a safe one.

So, how can we protect ourselves

from the dangers of democracy?

We're not allowed to drive a car

without passing a driving test.

What if we had to prove that we were competent to vote?

Then again, who would get to design the test?

We'll leave that one for the people to decide.

Leave your comments below.

LADY LESHURR: I think a lot of the time

we get influenced by our friends

or the people we surround our self around

to give a final opinion

-or judgement on something. -Yeah.

Anything that seems too fun straight away,

usually they don't last for long.

Are you going to vote in the future?

Definitely, yeah. It's my future.

I love that.

If you've enjoyed this episode,

make sure you subscribe to The School of Life, YouTube channel

right now to watch the rest of the series.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]