November 6, 2013 12:00PM
Featuring the author Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, George Mason University; with comments by John Sides, Associate Professor of Political Science, George Washington University. Moderated by John Samples, Director, Center for Representative Government, Cato Institute.
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
may be rational, but it creates a nation of people with little political
knowledge and little ability to objectively evaluate what they do know.
Ilya Somin examines political ignorance in America and the problems it
poses for democracy. He looks at various options for solving this
problem, arguing that political ignorance is best mitigated and its
effects lessened by decentralizing and limiting government. Somin
provocatively argues that people make better decisions when they choose
what to purchase in the market or which state or local government to
live under, than when they vote at the ballot box, because they have
stronger incentives to acquire relevant information and to use it
wisely. Please join us for a lively discussion of this important new
book.
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