It doesn't really matter whether it's modern or intended or accidental. The point is that it's best that the people making the decisions are educated and informed, and that takes time. That takes the kind of time that makes it a full time job, not one you can do on the side.

And yes, I understand that current representatives spend most of their time trudging up donations for campaigns, but that's less than ideal. I might even argue that makes the idea not modern at all.