Democracy Despite Itself ─ Why a System That Shouldn't Work at All Works So Well

Voters often make irrational decisions based on inaccurate and irrelevantinformation. Politicians are often inept, corrupt, or out of touch with the will of the people.Elections can be determined by the design of the ballot and the gerrymandered borders of a district.And yet, despite voters who choose candidates according to the boxer--brief dichotomy andpoliticians who struggle to put together a coherent sentence, democracy works exceptionally well:citizens of democracies are healthier, happier, and freer than citizens of other countries.In Democracy Despite Itself, Danny Oppenheimer and Mike Edwards explore thisseeming paradox: How can democracy lead to such successful outcomes when the defining characteristicof democracy, elections, is so flawed? Oppenheimer, a psychologist, and Edwards, a politicalscientist, draw on cutting-edge research in their fields to investigate the question and suggest ananswer. Oppenheimer and Edwards argue that democracy works because regular elections, no matter howflawed, produce a variety of unintuitive, positive consequences. Mass participation in contestedelections creates psychological pressure for voters to be better citizens and for politicians to bebetter leaders; alternating power regularly between different factions helps avoid instability;citizens are sometimes able to overcome their ignorance and make informed choices; and voters dohave the power to punish politicians for excessively bad behavior. The brilliance of democracy,write Oppenheimer and Edwards, does not lie in the people's ability to pick superior leaders. Itlies in the many ways that it subtly encourages the flawed people and their flawed leaders to worktoward building a better society.

Danny Oppenheimer is Associate Professor of Psychology and Public Policy at Princeton University. Mike Edwards founded and regularly contributes to Leftfielder.org, a blog on politics and media.