Updated Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Overview of "The Ethics and Rationality of Voting"
Written by Georgetown Prof. Jason Brennan.
Political Ignorance
How Political Ignorance Helped Cause the January 6 Attack and Trump's Subsequent Political Comeback
Voter ignorance and bias in evaluating political information were major factors in both.
The Election Wasn't a Realignment - or a "Mandate"
Trump's victory was narrow and largely caused by public anger at inflation and price increases.
Political Ignorance is an Even Worse Problem than I Thought
I've long warned about the dangers of voter ignorance. But the Trump era and the current election reveal that, on one crucial point, I was actually too optimistic.
Draft Chapters on Education and Corporate Law for the Forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Classical Liberalism
The education chapter is written by Williamson Evers, and the corporate law chapter by Robert T. Miller.
Harris Scales Back Harmful Price Control Proposal
The narrower version put forward by her campaign is still bad, but much less so than the much broader one floated earlier.
Public Ignorance and Misinformation About Immigration
A new study shows it is widespread on several issues, in ways that bolster restrictionism.
New Study on How to Address Public Ignorance About Housing Policy
New data shows that "housing supply skeptics" can be persuaded by evidence showing that allowing more construction reduces prices. But not clear this is a good road map for addressing the problem of public ignorance in the real world.
My New The Hill Article on How Trump and Harris Cater to Political Ignorance
Both propose awful economic policies that appeal to public ignorance.
The Logic of Voting for a Lesser Evil - and Other Writings on the Morality of Voting
Compendium of some of my work on the rights and wrongs of voting.
Trade, Public Opinion, and Political Ignorance
A new Cato Institute/YouGov survey finds contradictory attitudes on trade policy, and widespread ignorance. The survey also suggests a potentially promising political strategy for free trade advocates.
J.D. Vance, Taxing the Childless, and the Power of Framing
The controversy over Vance's advocacy of higher tax rates for childless adults illustrates the power of framing.
More Evidence that Republicans are Now the Party that Benefits From High Voter Turnout
If the trend persists, it may lead to reconsideration of traditional partisan attitudes towards mandatory voting and other policies intended to increase turnout.
Conflicting Evidence on Public Support for YIMBY Zoning Reform
Recent studies diverge on the extent to which public opinion backs policies that would deregulate housing construction. YIMBYs would do well to learn from both.
Inflation, the Economy, and Political Ignorance
Public ignorance has a big impact on voter atttudes on a major issue in the 2024 election.
New Article on "Brown, Democracy, and Foot Voting"
My contribution to the American Journal of Law and Equality symposium on the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.
Student Movements Are Often Wrong
We shouldn't assume that student political movements necessarily have a just cause. Far from it.
Increased Voter Turnout Now Benefits Republicans
Survey data shows relatively infrequent voters are significantly more likely to support the Trump-era GOP than those who vote more often. Will this change traditional left and right-wing attitudes towards mandatory voting and other policies intended to increase turnout?
Pros and Cons of Conformism - Rejoinder to Bryan Caplan
Two libertarian experts on public ignorance continue a debate about conformism.
Why I Don't Buy the Idea that You Can't Kill an Idea
Contrary to popular belief, ideas can in fact be killed. And that reality has important implications for how we should handle various conflicts, including those involving Israel and Ukraine.
Taylor Swift and Political Ignorance
A recent poll finding that 18 percent of all Americans and 32 percent of Republicans believe Taylor Swift is part of a covert conspiracy effort to help Biden win reelection. This is just one example of the broader problem of political ignorance and bias.
A Qualified Defense of Qualified Conformism
Some thoughts occasioned by economist Bryan Caplan's new book "You Will Not Stampede Me: Essays on Non-Conformism."
Don't Put too Much Stock in Survey Finding that 67% of 18-24-Year-Olds Say Jews are "Oppressors"
The much-cited Harvard-Harris poll question has flawed wording,and is at odds with other, better surveys.
Is Support for "From the River to the Sea" Based Upon Ignorance?
Younger Americans, in particular, appear to support calls for Palestinian liberation, but do they understand what a common slogan means?
New Survey Showing Public Ignorance About the Holocaust Among Young Americans
The Economist/YouGov survey indicates 1 in 5 young Americans believe the Holocaust is a "myth." The result is troubling, but less bad than it looks. It is also just one part of a broader problem of widespread ignorance about history and political issues.
Are Right-Wingers More Prone to Believe Conspiracy Theories than Left-Wingers?
An extensive new study finds that the answer is "no." Belief in conspiracy theories is about equally common on different sides of the political spectrum.
The Demand for Political Misinformation is a Bigger Problem than the Supply - Even in the Age of AI
Economist Tyler Cowen elaborates on some of the reasons why. The root of the problem is that voters have poor incentives to become well-informed and evaluate information objectively.
NYC Lawyer Dmitriy Shakhnevich Interviews Me on Wide Range of Law and Policy Issues
Topics covered include affirmative action, legacy preferences, the student loan forgiveness decision, refugee policy, indictments against Trump, Vladimir Putin, political ignorance, and more.
Juneteenth Celebrates a Great American Achievement
The emerging culture war over the holiday is misguided. In reality, Juneteenth celebrates one of the greatest triumphs of America and its founding principles.
How School Choice Can Mitigate Harmful Culture War Policies in Public Education
Current culture wars are just one more manifestation of the reality that public education routinely devolves into indoctrination and imposition of majoritarian ideology on dissenters. But school choice can help mitigate that problem.
Political Ignorance and Misinformation on the Left
Liberal political commentator Matt Yglesias explains why these problems are far from being confined to the right side of the political spectrum.
Bryan Caplan on NIMBYism and Economic Ignorance
Leading expert on political ignorance and housing comments on evidence indicating that ignorance, not self-interest, is at the root of most opposition to zoning reform.
A Flawed Attack on "Libertarian Elitism" About Voter Ignorance
The authors raise some reasonable issues. But they misunderstand both the libertarians they critique and the problem of political ignorance itself.
Tucker Carlson is More a Symptom of Our Problems than a Cause
I have more reason than most to cheer his departure from Fox News. But it's unlikely to significantly diminish the problem of political misinformation, which is driven by demand more than supply.
Jason Brennan's "Democracy: A Guided Tour"
The noted Georgetown political philosopher offers a valuable overview of the political theory of the strengths and weaknesses of democracy.
A Conflict Between Liberal Democracy and Authoritarian Nationalism: Implications of the Ideological Stakes in the Russia-Ukraine War
The war is often described as a conflict between authoritarianism and liberal democracy. That reality has some underappreciated implications.
Fox News 2020 Election Coverage Decisions Demonstrate that Demand for Misinformation is a Bigger Problem than the Supply
Major Fox talk show hosts knew that Trump's claims of a stolen election were false, but chose not to say so on air, for fear it would anger their audience.
Andrew Koppelman Responds to Critics of His Book on Libertarianism [Updated]
The response is part of the Balkinization blog symposium on his book " Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed," in which I was among the participants.
Balkinization Symposium on Andrew Koppelman's "Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed"
Participants include Jonathan Adler, Richard Epstein, Christina Mulligan, and myself, among others.
NIMBYism and Economic Ignorance
A new study presents compelling evidence that opposition to new housing construction is often caused the mistaken belief that it will increase housing prices rather than reduce them.
Yale Journal on Regulation Symposium on Peter Shane's "Democracy's Chief Executive"
Participants include Daniel Farber, Keith Whittington, Cristina Rodriguez, Lisa Heinzerling, and myself, among others.
Conservative Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw Says Republican Leaders' Election Denialism was "Always a Lie"
GOP politicians lied in order to exploit public ignorance. That dynamic is just one particularly egregious example of the broader danger widespread voter ignorance and bias.
Social Media Interaction Does Not Improve Political Knowledge, but It Does Polarize Us
Two new studies say there's no evidence of political learning on social media, but it does increasingly teach us to hate our opponents.
Not Everything Bad is "Anti-Democratic" - and that which is Democratic isn't Always Good
Tyler Cowen explains why it's a mistake to conflate democracy with what is good and just.
The "Good Government Trilemma": Why We Can't Have Democracy, Accountability, and Big Government all at Once
Canadian legal scholar Leonid Sirota outlines some reasons why.
My New Book Chapter on "Top-Down and Bottom-Up Solutions to the Problem of Political Ignorance""
It is now available for download on SSRN. The chapter is part of a forthcoming volume on "The Epistemology of Democracy," edited by Hana Samaržija and Quassim Cassam.
The Political Strategy of "Making the Other Side Better"
Economist Tyler Cowen argues this approach is too often neglected. But is more common than he suggests.
