The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies

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Bryan D. Caplan, associate professor of economics at George Mason University, argues that "voters are worse than ignorant; they are, in a word, irrational-and vote accordingly." People are often mistaken in their understanding of economics, and therefore vote against policies that would be in the majority's best interests, writes Caplan, who earned a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. at Princeton. New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof called his study "the best political book this year," and says it does "a remarkably thorough job of insulting the American voter." Topics include: Election 2008; McCain; Obama.