Participation: yes or no?

The idea or architectural participation has always struck me as problematic. In my mind, the architect's job is to possess a knowledgeable understanding of every aspect of design in order to create a well-rounded, functional and usable space. Participation, on the other hand, seems to diminish the role of the architect and at times almost assume him incompetent compared to the user. I think this notion is kind of absurd.  After all, shouldn't someone who is well trained and well skilled in the design field be able to produce a user-friendly space that incorporates the needs of individuals no matter how few or many? I'll agree. architects often seem to fall short of this goal. However, I'm not sure that we can just assume the user will do a better job due to participation.
Rather than seeking participation as an end goal, I think we as architects should incorporate it into our design process. Participation from the client and users combined with the architect's design skill and expertise would in my mind result in a much better project than either the architect or the user could produce himself.