College of Political Knowledge
Subject: Voting/American Government/Political Philosophy
Paper #34
“Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons, gullibility, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck.” –Thomas Jefferson to James Smith, 1822.
I like that quote! Pretty much sums up the political discourse unfolding in the Capitol…..
“Ignorance and bigotry, like other insanities, are incapable of self-government.” –Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1817
Anyone that has ever read my stuff knows that I am not a big fan of Jefferson….personally, I think he was a pragmatist and NOT an idealist that many portray him as in the past….but has made some excellent points….
Ever since the election in November 0f 2008, many people, bloggers and journalists have been trying to explain the actions of the GOP. We have heard that they are a dying party or that they are not in touch with the feelings of the voter. No matter which or what you think is happening to the GOP there is one thing to keep in mind….they are professionals and they are pretty good at the game of politics.
So what is the reason that the GOP is appearing so weak?
First of all, the American people on an individual basis, realizes that their single vote is unlikely to determine the outcome of anything. For this reason they do not spend too much time researching to get the reliable information they need. The voter relies heavily on the media for their information and in these days of cable they look for those channels and reports that will reinforce their beliefs in the world view.
The voter lacks incentive to cast an informed vote. Therefore FOX and MSNBC form their knowledge of any given situation. Most voters will be rationally uninformed on many issues. They will depend on political information suppliers like the mass media to the issues that are of personal importance.
This situation has a name….it is called the “Rational Ignorance Effect”
Wiki has a pretty good definition of RIE:
“Ignorance” about an issue is said to be “rational” when the cost of educating oneself about the issue sufficiently to make an informed decision can outweigh any potential benefit one could reasonably expect to gain from that decision, and so it would be irrational to waste time doing so. This has consequences for the quality of decisions made by large numbers of people, such asgeneral elections, where the probability of any one vote changing the outcome is very small.
In my opinion this is what the GOP is employing in their attacks on Obama. They use buzzwords that have no real place in the conversation with the hope that political ignorance will play in their favor.
The classical theory of democracy states that individuals have a definite political will and that individuals have an ability to observe and interpret the facts and that these individuals will make a rational choice based on their knowledge that their reps will implement their will…..personally I do not agree with that definition….why….people do NOT have a precise concept of what they want the state to do. Most are incapable of objectively assessing and interpreting facts and that most are irrational in their expectations of what their reps are to do….which in turn makes them impatient and illogical in their choices when voting is necessary.
If one needs an illustration then I say just take a long hard look at the last “Tea Party” protests…..they were billed about the outrage in Obama tax increases….but if anyone bothered to check there were few if any tax increases. Basically it was just a ploy to get people lathered up and go out and bash the president. It was NEVER about raising taxes.
Some will say that the “Rational Ignorance Effect” is losing some of its validity…..because to the popularity of the internet……I say that is not completely accurate……voters will use the internet like they use the media….they will find information that supports their world view. For that reason, Rational Ignorance Effect is still as valid as it ever was.
I bit dramatic with the Bold words, eh?
Yeah – a bit “Fox News” perhaps??? 😆
That was my first thought…..go figure…
Actually, it’s a good post, but there are a couple of things I’d challenge…
Firstly, I think that the problem these days (particularly) is that everyone is seeking the “quick fix” – instant gratification – and, when you add to that the brainwashing they’ve received from governments that insists that everything is “someone else’s fault” rather than being down to their own stupidity, they simply vote in “the other lot” and expect them to “fix” everything without even having a clue what it is that they think needs fixing! It’s really a by-product of being bone idle!
Secondly (and I know you and I give the word slightly different meanings), whilst idealism is necessary in order to have something to aim at, it is by its very nature almost always unachievable and the pragmatist is the one who actually gets something done because he, or she, is dealing with reality rather than dreams and wishes in “an ideal world” that doesn’t actually exist!
I do agree that rational ignorance is alive a well and as powerful as ever and that voters are looking solely for confirmation of their views, but I do therefore also challenge the idea that most voters are looking for information of any sort at all.
Like I said, these days EVERYTHING is someone else’s fault to most people – American or British – and we should sue them…
Yeah, right! Bullshit rules supreme I guess! 😈
To me…not taking responsibility i9s a form of ignorance…accepting the crap as gospel is a form of stupidity….and that can be lethal….
Then, surely, the problem will solve itself in time???
I am afraid not……I have watched the political discourse sink to unbelievable lows in my years….and it just keep getting worse…..and I could try and link it to education…..but there is not even coffee this morning…..
Yes, I know, but if the failures really are lethal… well, like I said, the problem will go away (we’ll all of us be dead and the Earth can get back to being a nice planet).
😆
Not bad…..you mean that the earth would go back to being green and plentiful? Way cool…..
Exactly!
Okay…I am ready…..START! LOL
Underlying your post, wolf, is the assumption that you know what the truth is and if only people were as rational as you, they’d know the truth too.
Nope…NEVER said I know the truth about anything…just that I make an effort to find out what is what….I accept nothing on face value…nothing is as simple as one two three…especially in politics and economics…..
But what if they already KNOW the truth? How is it rational to keep digging, when you already KNOW what it is?
Most people knew Obama was an empty suit puppet for the liberal establishment a year and a half ago.
And yet they would likely have been derided for “jumping to conclusions” and ignorance.
Go back thru my archives to 2008 and you will see that I was not that impressed with his “vision”…the man yes….the promises no….you are saying that you already know all there is to know about any political subject? If that is the case what does it hurt to be sure that you know the truth?
If Obama is an empty shell then EVERY one of the people in politics is an empty shell….I agree with that….there is not one that is concerned with you or me or anyone but their own ego…if we cannot disagree without being disagreeable then the system is failing….and then the prophets doom will truly have something to be bitchy about….
Here you go…that is a lot of searching and thought this would help….
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/6/431543/-Are-You-Ready-For-Change
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/25/463588/-Obama:The-Agent-Of-Change
http://lobotero.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/can-the-democrats-do-it/