The Myth of the Rational Voter

What Hacker News says

1. shadowgovtFeb 2024
   What about when it's both, because they learned many things about the United States that make a desire for disruption of the current status quo justified?

   I think we're deluding ourselves if we think we can give people critical thinking and not have them question the consequences of colonialism, or slavery, or the industrial revolution, or manifest destiny, or homeland security, and which of those consequences should be kept and which should be torn down.

   (There's a pretty good book on this subject, actually: among other things it touches on, The Myth of the Rational Voter [2007, Bryan Caplan] notes the stark difference in voting habits among those with and without a college education. Does that mean all college education includes indoctrination, or does it mean learning critical thinking causes people to think critically to similar conclusions, or perhaps both? And at another level of abstraction: if you're a policymaker and you want people to vote in the way they tend to do when not college educated, aren't there incentives to cast education itself into doubt?)

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2. anigbrowlDec 2023
   But voters aren't victims of talking points.

   I'm not so sure about that, there's a good argument that many folk get exhausted trying to resolve all the political calculus (while still living their lives and dealing with everyday problems) and just give up. Bryan Caplan called this 'rational irrationality' in his book 'The Myth of the Rational Voter' and I found his argument quite persuasive. Also look into Alistair Smith/Bruce Bueno de Mesquita's The Logic of Political Survival and their notion of 'selectorate theory'.

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3. nickffJan 2023
   I think you’re vastly overestimating the average voter. I would recommend reading Caplan’s “The Myth of the Rational Voter”; it’s a rather bracing book.
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4. georgeecollinsJul 2022
   I would recommend "The Myth of the Rational Voter" which deals with this issue very systematically. Democracy is good for a lot of reasons, but that doesn't mean voters make the best choice for themselves every time. I think over time the system heals though. It has so far.
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5. eruMay 2021
   See also the Myth of the Rational Voter https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/698866.The_Myth_of_the_R...
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6. anigbrowlNov 2019
   In a nutshell, public choice theory. Try The Myth of the Rational Voter by Bryan Caplan which explores the phenomenon from a systems standpoint without being especially partisan or ideological.
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