Democracy and Political Ignorance : Why Smaller Government Is Smarter, Second Edition / Ilya Somin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Somin, Ilya, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--United States.

Democracy.

Ignorance (Theory of knowledge)--Political aspects--United States.

Ignorance (Theory of knowledge).

Voting--United States.

Voting.

United States--Politics and government.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (308 pages) : illustrations, tables

Edition:

2nd ed.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, [2020]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

One of the biggest problems with modern democracy is that most of the public is usually ignorant of politics and government. Many people understand that their votes are unlikely to change the outcome of an election and don't see the point in learning much about politics. This creates a nation of people with little political knowledge and little ability to objectively evaluate what they do know. The second edition of Democracy and Political Ignorance fully updates its analysis to include new and vital discussions on the implications of the "Big Sort" for politics, the link between political ignorance and the disproportionate political influence of the wealthy, assessment of proposed new strategies for increasing political knowledge, and up-to-date survey data on political ignorance during recent elections. Ilya Somin mines the depths of the current state of ignorance in America and reveals it as a major problem for democracy. He weighs various options for solving this problem, provocatively arguing that political ignorance is best mitigated and its effects lessened by decentralizing and limiting government. People make better decisions when they have stronger incentives to acquire relevant information—and to use it wisely.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

Acknowledgments for the First Edition

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Extent of Political Ignorance

Chapter 2. Do Voters Know Enough?

Chapter 3. The Rationality of Political Ignorance

Chapter 4. The Shortcomings of Shortcuts

Chapter 5. Foot Voting vs. Ballot Box Voting

Chapter 6. Political Ignorance and Judicial Review

Chapter 7. Can Voter Knowledge Be Increased?

Conclusion

Appendix

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

9780804799355

0804799350

OCLC:

1178769098