The Conundrum of Political Ignorance

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 376 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  The Conundrum of Political Ignorance (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

In his book Democracy and Political Ignorance, law Professor Ilya Somin develops the thesis that political ignorance is a serious problem for democracy. Born in the USSR, Professor Somin has a keen appreciation for the merits of democratic governance but argues that democracy works better when government is smaller and limited and there is less government for the voters to oversee. This column follows Professor Somin’s arguments.  The essence of democratic governance is the accountability of elected officials to the voters. And, even if as individual voters we do not care about holding public officials accountable; we have a responsibility to do so for the benefit of our fellow citizens since elected officials govern over everyone in our society. In this sense, our voting decisions exercise “power over others” as John Stuart Mill taught in his Considerations on Representative Government (1861).  Mills feared political ignorance so much that he proposed giving extra votes to the more knowledgeable voters. Similarly, Plato contended that democracy is a defective form of government because it formulates policies based on the views of the ignorant masses. And James Madison argued for an indirectly elected senate “as a defense to the people against their own temporary errors and delusions” (Federalist 63).  As individual voters we have little incentive to learn about politics because there is only a very small chance that our vote will actually affect an electoral outcome. Thus, it is rational for most citizens to invest little effort to acquire political knowledge given the insignificance of any one vote to electoral outcomes. As Professor Somin notes, “Political ignorance is...a rational individual behavior that leads to potentially dangerous collective outcomes.”  Our political knowledge has barely increased over the years notwithstanding increases in education and in the quantity and quality of information available to voters. For example, a 2014 Annenberg Public Policy Center study found that only 36 percent of Americans could name the three branches of government. This was a decrease in political knowledge from the  42 percent that could not name the branches of government in an earlier 2006 survey. Professor Somin documents numerous other examples of our political ignorance.  Political ignorance is not due to not having access to the relevant information. It is mostly a case of voters rationally choosing not to invest the necessary time and effort to learn and understand political issues. Political ignorance is rational because, as individual voters, we have virtually no chance of influencing the outcome of an election. In the case of a U.S. presidential election our chances are less than one in one hundred million. From this perspective, it is not worth the trouble to devote great time and effort to acquire political information.  Thus, Professor Somin asserts that the problem of political ignorance is unlikely to be solved by proposals to improve civic education, enhance media coverage of politics, and the like. It seems our political ignorance is here to stay. He concludes that political ignorance is best addressed, not by seeking to increase political knowledge, but by seeking to reduce the consequences of our political ignorance.  There are several theories of political participation, and I have discussed two of them, Retrospective voting, and Deliberative voting in my column, Why do we vote as we do? Each theory requires different levels of political knowledge from the voters. But the fundamental question remains: How much political knowledge do voters need for democracy to work?  One explanation of voter behavior, the Burkean Trusteeship model, named after eighteen- century political theorist Edmund Burke, requires little of voters. According to Burke, voters should choose based on a candidate’s knowledge and virtue. Focusing on a candidate’s virtue is best since most voters lack the knowledge to evaluate complex public policy options.  However, the connection between the virtues of opposing candidates and their skills and governing abilities is unclear. Just as interestingly is this related question that I must leave for another time: What happens to democracy when it is the voters that have flawed values?  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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