Democracy and Political Ignorance ─ Why Smaller Government Is Smarter

One of the biggest problems with modern democracy is that most of the public is usually ignorant of politics and government. Many people understand that their votes are unlikely to change the outcome of an election and don't see the point in learning much about politics. This creates a nation of people with little political knowledge and little ability to objectively evaluate what theydo know.

The second edition of Democracy and Political Ignorance fully updates its analysis to include new and vital discussions on the Big Sort, increased wealth and corporate sponsorship influencing political campaigns, and the most up-to-date survey data on political ignorance from recent elections. Ilya Somin mines the depths of the current state of ignorance in America and reveals it as a major problem for democracy. He weighs various options for solving this problem, provocatively arguing that political ignorance is best mitigated and its effects lessened by decentralizing and limiting government. People make better decisions when they have stronger incentives to acquire relevant informationand to use it wisely.