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BRYAN Caplan's "The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies" debunks the myth of Western democracy as an ideal by marshaling a litany of complaints.
The central indictment is predicated on the shocking ignorance of the general American voters, especially in economic matters.
For instance, fewer than 40 percent of United States voters can name both their senators. Fewer still know their senators' party affiliations.
By contrast, these voters are shockingly knowledgeable about political trivia. During the 1992 campaign for the US presidency, for instance, while fewer than 20 percent of voters knew Bill Clinton's environmental record, almost 90 percent knew that Dan Quayle, the vice presidential candidate who couldn't spell "potato," had criticized a television character over the "immorality" of being a single mother.
While 15 percent of voters knew the candidates' positions on the death penalty, about 86 percent could name the incumbent president's dog.
The voters were also guilty of ignorance concerning a number of economic problems. For instance, they blame "foreign devils," high taxes, women and minorities for a misfiring economy, contrary to the consensus reached by established economists.
The author seems particularly concerned about voter ignorance about economics.
"The reason why I emphasize economics is that it is at the heart of most modern policy disputes," Caplan claims, without explaining whether this economic dominance represents a healthy state of affairs.
True, economics is about profit maximization, and when this is considered the central concern of the state, decision-making becomes much easier.
But what is wanted today is not rational economic choice, but a rational assessment of the destructive impacts of sustained economic growth.
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