The ‘Myth of the Rational Voter’ by Bryan Caplan offers an enlightening explanation of our political reality.

1. Unlike market behavior voting behavior is irrational because the cost of being irrational is low. Unlike your decision on how to spend your money the impact of your decision on how you vote is largely born by someone else. The actual impact of a single vote is small. You in a sense get the pleasure of a short term indulgence and the longer term cost is largely born by others.

2. The average voter underestimates the benefits of free markets and free trade and overestimates the positive impact of government programs. The average voter is ignorant of the current budget, overestimating the portion spent on foreign aid and welfare and underestimating the portion spent on defense and Social Security. The average voter thinks corporate and business profits are much larger than they are.

3. To get elected the politicians must pander to the wishes and perception of an ignorant voter. Yet to stay in office a leader must deliver a sound economy, and to do so requires actions contrary to those promised to get elected. The voters ask for policies they really do not want.

4. The painful but usually effective solutions (in the long run) can be executed by a cabinet or bureaucratic officials, somewhat sparing the elected official from the charge of ignoring the popular (but often wrong) desired policy or will.

5. Lawyers make effective politicians because they are trained to argue a position regardless of its merit. Economic principles that offer real solutions are complicated and the people most knowledgeable on the subject are poor at teaching and convincing the voting public. Policy wonks rarely get elected.

print