[Volokh] Ilya Somin: Knowledge About Political Ignorance:

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Ilya Somin:
Knowledge About Political Ignorance:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_07_16-2006_07_22.shtml#1153320919


   My forthcoming Critical Review symposium article on rationality and
   political ignorance is now available on SSRN [1]here. The paper
   explains - for the first time - why, for many citizens, it is rational
   to vote but irrational to acquire more than a very minimal amount of
   political information. The phenomenon of widespread "rationally
   ignorant" electoral decisionmaking has a wide range of important
   implications that scholars have not fully appreciated.

   Here's the abstract:

     For decades, scholars have recognized that most citizens have
     little or no political knowledge, and that it is in fact rational
     for the average voter to make little effort to acquire political
     information. This article shows that rational ignorance is fully
     compatible with the so-called âparadox of votingâ because it will
     often be rational for citizens to vote, but irrational for them to
     become well-informed. Furthermore, rational ignorance leads not
     only to inadequate acquisition of political information but also to
     ineffective use of such information as citizens do possess. The
     combination of these two problems has fundamental implications for
     a variety of issues in public policy and international affairs,
     including the desirable size and scope of government, the need for
     judicial review, the division of power within a federal system, and
     the conduct of the War on Terror.

   For some of my earlier work on related issues, see [2]here. I also
   wrote [3]this nonacademic analysis of political ignorance for the Cato
   Institute back in 2004, explaining why "Political Ignorance is No
   Bliss."

References

   1. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=916963
   2. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=457760
   3. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-525es.html