18 August 2007

Why I don't Like Democracy

Many people talk about democracy as if it was holy and perfect, but I myself do not like democracy because democracy implies rule of the majority and therefore tyranny of the majority.

Why don't I like democracy? Simply, voters are dumb. Believe it or not the politician who follows exactly what it is people want become hated by the people by people who vote don't tend to think about the consequences. E.g. people support a ban on free trade to stop Made in China products coming in however they also don't want to price of toys, etc to go up. Whether they answer surveys on way or another depends on things like the order you ask the questions, how you ask the questions, etc. How they vote depends entirely by the way the media frames issues, etc. I have no faith in people.

The idea that voters are not rational has been explored in Bryan Caplan's book The Myth of the Rational Voter and he talks about it in an interview with Russ Roberts.

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