Rational Ignorance and the current state of political ignorance

One of the themes we start classes with is the need for an educated public to be the backbone of a democratic republic, but there's an argument to be made that there's little incentive for people to become fully aware of political matters and that there is a minimal level of information that a typical citizens can obtain and still be a functioning citizen. Further, it suggests that it is perfectly rational for citizens to decide that educating oneself about a public matter beyond what that would benefit them, is perfectly fine.

The concept is called rational ignorance and has its origins in public choice theory, which attempts to look at the decisions people make as a product of rational self-interest. It takes a realistic look at how people in fact make decisions as opposed to the way that people ought to make decisions, which is more in line with approach of the founding generation. I'm not sure the founders would have seen this more than an excuse to ignore public matters and perhaps a justification for private corruption - and effort to see what each of us can gain out of the system individually rather than collectively. I assume that why they call it public virtue, or civic virtue.

I throw that out to put some of the latest findings in the world of political ignorance in context. There are some that argue that there's little reason for people to have background on some of these matters, but it can lead to problematic collective decision making:

- Public Ignorance about Paul Ryan.
- Public Ignorance about Federal Spending.
- Down with the people.
- Scientists share blame for public’s ignorance of science.

Repeal of Health Care Bill Passes House

Details here. The vote - almost all party line - was 236 - 181.

Here are some random posts on the general topic:

- Story in the Washington Post.
- Poll results seem to vary depending on how questions are posed.
- Opinion tend to be nuanced.
- Debate still lingers on what exactly is in the bill.

Public Perception v. Reality

Bruce Bartlett finds evidence that Tea Party members, on average, cannot correctly answer questions about taxes.

This is not a surprising result. As my 2301's dive into public opinion we'll see that people often distort facts to justify their image of the world. Tea Partiers are no different than anyone else.

...an audience of third graders

That's what George Will calls Palin's supporters. Ouch.

He takes aim at McCain and Palin's loose understanding of the Constitution.

Another Reason the Founders did not Want you to Vote

From the Chron:

23 percent of Texans are convinced that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is a Muslim.

Obama is a Christian who was embroiled in a controversy earlier this year about his two-decade membership in Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Yet just 45 percent of those polled identified the Illinois senator as a Protestant.

The Obama-is-a-Muslim confusion is caused by fallacious Internet rumors and radio talk-show gossip. McCain went so far at one of his town hall meetings to grab a microphone from a woman who claimed that Obama was an Arab.

The Texas numbers are unusual because most national polls show that just 5 to 10 percent of Americans still believe Obama is a Muslim — less than half the number of Texans who buy into the debunked theories.

About Those Voters

Back in grad school days, one of the biggest controversies in the political science literature concerned the nature of the electorate.

Are they rational or irrational?

When one traced the debate it became obvious that the pendulum swung back and forth. Last I remember, the electorate--if not the individual voter--was considered rational.

Apparently they (we) are now considered irrational.