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The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies
by Caplan, Bryan
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Good+
- ISBN 10
- 0691129428
- ISBN 13
- 9780691129426
- Seller
-
Sylva, North Carolina, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Princeton Review -Random House. HARDCOVER. 2007. 0691129428 :Binding: HardcoverSubject: Political Science | Public Policy | Economic PolicyVendor: Princeton University Press . Good+.
Reviews
On Jul 17 2009, Iceyice said:
A very interesting book. Bryan Caplan does a great job proving the widespread misunderstanding the average voter has on even very basic economic principles. He goes on to explain why the systematic bias exists and shows how this leads individuals to act irrationally as voters. Caplan picks apart weaker arguments for voter rationality, and he all but destroys the validity of the common comparison between the behavior of rational consumers and voters.
One beef I have with this author is his frequent reference to religion when attempting to illustrate irrational beliefs. Caplan is apparently unable to fathom the idea that faith in God can be logical and rational. If it were only mentioned once in the book, I would pass it off as Caplan�s own small misunderstanding causing him to use a bad example; however Caplan uses the example repeatedly. It�s almost like he�s on a mission to call all religious beliefs irrational. It�s quite annoying.
It�s a short read with most of the pages dedicated to proving the existence of systematic bias and detailing how these biases have caused bad policies like protectionism to survive. I wish Caplan had added another hundred pages to spend more time discussing solutions to this enormous failure of democracy. In particular, how stronger structural and constitutional limits of general government authority could benefit society. With all that said, I recommend the book, great analysis and a convincing theory.
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Details
- Bookseller
- City Lights Bookstore (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 0691129428-01
- Title
- The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies
- Author
- Caplan, Bryan
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good+
- ISBN 10
- 0691129428
- ISBN 13
- 9780691129426
- Publisher
- Princeton Review -Random House
- Place of Publication
- Princeton, Nj
- Date Published
- 2007
Terms of Sale
City Lights Bookstore
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About the Seller
City Lights Bookstore
Biblio member since 2007
Sylva, North Carolina
About City Lights Bookstore
City Lights Bookstore is located in Sylva, North Carolina, a small Main Street town nestled in the bend of the Balsam Mountains. Our goal is to share the literature of the Appalachian region with the world and the world of good books with our community.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.