The Myth of the Rational Voter
Book description
The greatest obstacle to sound economic policy is not entrenched special interests or rampant lobbying, but the popular misconceptions, irrational beliefs, and personal biases held by ordinary voters. This is economist Bryan Caplan's sobering assessment in this provocative and eye-opening book. Caplan argues that voters continually elect politicians who either…
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Why read it?
2 authors picked The Myth of the Rational Voter as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Political scientists and economists have long argued that voters are rationally ignorant.
On this theory, people tend to acquire and retain information only if the expected benefits exceed the expected costs. This explains why students cram material to pass a test but let themselves forget it afterward, why Americans who speak English at home don’t usually bother to learn a foreign language but so many people learn English, or why you don’t bother attempt to memorize your local phonebook.
It also explains why voters know so little. Since individual votes make so little difference, individual voters can afford to remain…
From Jason's list on democracy, its promises and perils.
Caplan also builds on the observation that one vote will not affect an election outcome, so voters have little incentive to cast an informed vote. Caplan notes that people tend to have biased beliefs about public policy, leading them to vote for candidates and policies that are not in the public interest. Voters tend to be, in Caplan’s terms, rationally irrational. To examine this idea, Caplan compares the public policy views of economists with those of the general public and finds significant differences. Under the assumption that economists are correct about the public policies that best further the public interest,…
From Randall's list on voter preferences and democratic decision-making.
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