National Constitution Center Releases Reports on "Restoring the Guardrails of Democracy"
The project includes reports by conservative, libertarian, and progressive teams. I am coauthor of the Team Libertarian report.
Political Ignorance
Can the January 6 Committee Hearings Break Through the Barriers of Political Ignorance and Bias Underpinning the Big Lie?
Most of those open to evidence already know that Trump tried to reverse the outcome of an election he legitimately lost. Reaching the rest is likely to be extremely difficult, at best.
Bryan Caplan on "Misinformation About Misinformation"
One of the world's leading experts on public knowledge and ignorance explains why consumers of misinformation are often as much to blame as producers.
Consistent Paternalists Should Back Restrictions on Voters, Too
In an important new article, political philosophers Jason Brennan and Christopher Freiman explain why standard justifications for paternalistic restrictions on consumers also apply to voters.
The Demand for Political Misinformation is a Bigger Danger than the Supply
Harvard Law Professor Guy-Uriel Charles has some useful insights on the problem.
Are Public Ignorance and Misinformation Getting Worse?
The answer, as Tyler Cowen and Matthew Yglesias, argue, is probably not. But political ignorance is still a serious problem.
January 6 and the Problem of Political Ignorance
Ignorance and bias played a major role in the attack on the Capitol and in the continuing belief of many Republicans that Biden didn't really win the 2020 election. The issue is part of the broader problem of political ignorance and bias, which is by no means confined to any one side of the political spectrum.
Anthony Downs, RIP
One of the greatest political economists of the 20th century passed away earlier this month.
Does the Supreme Court's Declining Popularity Matter?
It could make the Court more vulnerable to political attack and to measures such as court-packing. But the vulnerability might not be great - or last long.
My National Affairs Article on "Voting With Our Feet"
The article explains how expanding opportunities for foot voting can enhance political choice, help the poor and disadvantaged, and reduce the dangers of political polarization.
Trolls Will Be Trolls, Online and Offline, Reports New Study
Being jerks is just the way some people try to make themselves feel dominant.
Derek Chauvin Jury Selection Process Highlights Need to Stop Dumbing Down Juries
The system routinely excludes not only those who might be familiar with a given case, but also those who have relevant background knowledge that might improve the quality of jury deliberations.
Biden Administration Revokes Trump Changes to Citizenship Test for Immigrants
The previous administration had made some reasonable changes, but also introduced questions based on factual errors and questionable normative assumptions smuggled in under the guise of factual knowledge.
Rights and Wrongs of the Trump Administration's Revised Citizenship Test
Some of the changes are reasonable. But many of the new questions are badly designed and incorporate serious errors. Moreover, such tests raise the deeper issue of why immigrants are required to pass a test to get the right to vote, but natives are not.
Perils of Trump's Conspiracy-Mongering About the Election
His promotion of far-fetched conspiracy theories about the election is highly unlikely to change the results. But it is damaging, nonetheless.
Is there a Moral Duty to Vote in an Election Where the Stakes are Unusually High?
There could be in some situations. But less often than many assume. And, ironically, the same reasoning suggests many people would have a duty NOT to vote in such cases.
Two Important New Books on Knowledge, Bias, and Paternalism
Recent works by longtime intellectual antagonists Cass Sunstein (author of "Too Much Information") and Mario Rizzo and Glen Whitman (authors of "Escaping Paternalism") have a surprising amount of common ground.
Political Ignorance Is Bliss
Could paying less attention to politics be better for you, your relationships, and society?
New Survey on Public Ignorance About the Holocaust
The poll shows extensive ignorance among millenials and Generation Z, and is consistent with many previous studies showing widespread ignorance about politics and history. But one of its findings may be less bad than it looks.
Justifying a Moral Duty to Vote is a Lot Harder than You Might Think
Political philosopher Jason Brennan explains why.
Connecticut Passes Law Curbing Qualified Immunity - but with Loopholes
The law is a step in the right direction, but has significant limitations, that should be a warning sign for future reform efforts.
How Foot Voting Promotes Political Freedom Better than Ballot Box Voting
Second in a series of posts based on my new book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
My New Book "Free to Move" - And Why I Wrote it
The first in a series of posts based on my book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
Part I of Interview about My Book "Free to Move" with Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin
Professor Balkin asked me many great questions in interview just published at his Balkinization blog.
Kindle Edition of My Forthcoming Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom" Now Available
It's available for preorder now, and will be delivered on April 23
Should We Replace Traditional Elections with Sortition?
Recent controversies over election rules and the coronavirus threat have bolstered advocates of decision-making by randomly selected groups of voters. But this approach still has serious flaws.
When Should Lay Voters Defer to the Views of Scientists?
My 2015 post on this subject includes points relevant to our current situation.
Public Education as Public Indoctrination
A New York Times study describes how both red and blue states use public education to indoctrinate students in their preferred ideologies. This dynamic should dampen hopes that public education can fix the problem of widespread political ignorance.
Study Finds Almost 40 Percent of People in Eight European Nations Would Like to Live "in a World Where Chemical Substances Don't Exist"
Such scientific ignorance is common in th US as well, and can have a harmful influence on government policy.
My Contribution to the Inquiry Symposium on Jason Brennan's Book "Against Democracy"
The article is now available on SSRN.
The Growth of the "Cultic Milieu" and the Spread of Harmful Ideas
Historian Stephen Davies provides a good explanation of why fringe "cultic milieu" ideas are growing in influence. It's a troubling development, but not one that should lead us to categorically abjure non-mainstream political ideas.
Why We Shouldn't Treat Survivors and Victims as Authorities on Policy Issues
The dispute over Harvard's decision to rescind the admission of Parkland shooting survivor/gun rights activist Kyle Kashuv should remind us of the reasons why we should not have given any special status to his views in the first place. The same goes for most others in similar situations.
Perils of "Democratic Socialism"
The seemingly new version of socialism advocated by many on the left today has all too many flaws in common with old kind.
The Rights and Wrongs of Electoral Interference
Russia's interference in the 2016 election was wrong. But the reasons why are harder to pin down than you might think. Not all foreign interference in elections is unjustified. Far from it, in fact.
Why Moral Progress Is Not Inevitable
Political theorist Jacob Levy reminds us that the arc of history doesn't always bend towards justice. Moral retrogression has happened before, and could well occur again.
The Perils of Zero-Sum Worldviews on the Left and Right
The awful ideology of the perpetrator of the recent terrorist attack in New Zealand is one of many examples of how far-right nationalists and far-left socialists have more in common than we often think. Both worldviews rest on the dangerous assumption that we are locked in a zero-sum game in which some groups can only succeed and prosper at the expense of others.
Reforming Democracy
A new symposium outlines several ideas for improving our democratic system. All are worth considering. But none are likely to be as good as expanding opportunities for people to "vote with their feet."
The Most Politically Intolerant Americans Tend To Be Urban, Highly Educated Whites, Survey Shows
An Atlantic article makes the case that some very privileged people don't want to hear from the other side.
Democracy in Decline?
If its recent record is any indication, Winston Churchill might have been wrong about democracy.
Why the Demand for Fake News is a Far More Serious Problem than the Supply
Canadian columnist Andrew Coyne explains why efforts to combat fake news by cutting off supply are barking up the wrong tree.
Survey Shows Most Extreme Opponents of GMO Foods Know the Least - Yet Think They Know the Most
The result is consistent with lots of other evidence of widespread ignorance and bias influencing public opinion on political and scientific issues.
Introduction to my book "Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter" Now Available on SSRN
The Introduction to the revised second edition summarizes the rest of the book, and is available for free.
Should We Let Children Vote? The Troubling Implications of Standard Reasons for Rejecting a Flawed Idea
Few will agree with Cambridge political scientist David Runciman's proposal to lower the voting age to 6. But standard reasons for rejecting the idea raise serious questions about many adult voters, too.
Political Ignorance and George H.W. Bush's Defeat in the 1992 Election
Bush lost because voters punished him for the recession of the early 1990s - an event he did not cause. This is just one example of a broader phenomenon of voters rewarding and punishing politicians for things they do not control.
Why a New Brexit Referendum Would Not be a "Betrayal" of Democracy [updated with response to Ryan Bourne]
If referenda are a legitimate mechanism for making political decisions, then it is also legitimate for them to be overruled by new referenda. Those who live by the referendum sword risk dying by it.
Libertarian Critiques of Democracy Can't be Refuted by Showing that it's Better than Dictatorship
Democracy is clearly superior to despotism. But libertarians are still right to worry about voter ignorance and advocate tighter constraints on government power.
Why Voting Based on Values Can't Overcome the Problem of Political Ignorance
Values are important. But so is factual knowledge about public policy. In some ways, the significance of values actually makes the problem of voter ignorance more pressing, not less so.
Political Ignorance and the Midterm Elections
It is not yet clear who will win. But widespread political ignorance already ensures many of us will be losers.
