Opinion of the phrase "The People"

[The Mikado]

Pretty much always highly negative.  Is there a more harmful abstraction?  There are no people in The People, it's just a claim to legitimacy for your platform based on popular support that doesn't actually exist.  There is no such thing as "The People" or "The Masses," there's a highly complex multitude of individuals with their own interests, needs, cares, and opinions, and they do not speak with a unified voice.  The People, United, Can Never Exist.  A group of people can rally behind a common agenda, but The People cannot because there are always people that disagree quite vehemently with that agenda.  Hearing "The People support the agenda of X" or "The People have spoken" are like nails on a chalkboard to me because they are the most obvious lie any political activist has ever spoken.

This has been my rant for the day.

[The Mikado]

It is the tendency of the reactionary, the cynical, and the weak-minded to focus on the details and differences between individuals, and the slope from this semantic argument to the Great Man nonsense that dominates liberal political thought is quite slippery.

Is it semantic to point out that claiming "The People demand justice" or whatever it is you're saying is an absurd lie because it implies popular acclamation for your position that doesn't exist?