The American Voter
If you aren't already sufficiently convinced that over 80% of the American populace should never vote, read this. (Don't let the amateur formatting fool you into thinking Converse was a crank). The conclusion: as a normative matter, the American voter either a) doesn't know what he's voting for or against or b) knows the bases of the parties' disagreements, but only in a narrowly partisan way, i.e., b/c he only processes new information in ways that will conform to and confirm his established ideological convictions, he doesn't approach the chimeric ideal of the "informed voter" any more closely than does his most uninterested & illiterate fellow citizen.
Further conclusions:
1. The swing vote - those people who make the decision in most years as to who'll be our congressmen, president, etc. - are in fact least qualified to decide.
2. Independent voters are more likely than partisan voters to vote out of a (sentimental) sense of moral obligation to exercise their constitutional right, as they've no other reason to go to the polls. Schools should emphasize to elementary students that the initial conception and practice of the American polity did not include or contemplate universal suffrage.
3. It cannot be emphasized enough how radically different the decision environment of the genuinely educated/intelligent etc. - in this context, those who closely follow and are concerned for policy reasons about election outcomes - is from that of the average voter. The reality is that most voters don't understand their own interests in any but the most rudimentary way; they don't think about the relation between those interests and X policy; and, perhaps most importantly, they'll only hear about X speech/gaffe/policy proposal indirectly and often in a distorted fashion.
And then they'll vote on instinct. 'Cause Ron Littlefield is "good people".
Chattanooga Politics | By Josiah Roe | 08:57 PM
Comments
No other reason to go to the polls, huh?
PS: your link on the word "this" is broken.
Posted by: Catie at February 1, 2008 11:16 AM
While I sympathize with some of Converse's views, I take issue with some of his arguments when applied to politics in the 21st Century (the original study was written in 1952).
The first being the condescending description of "the elite." Americans are guaranteed the right to vote, period. When our government was drafted, there was no litmus test for voting rights (excluding the fact that blacks and women couldn't vote); the majority of our republic was composed of farmers - many of which were poor and uneducated. So even while Converse may have found sympathetic ears with his Harvard pals, Jefferson and Madison probably wouldn't approve.
Second, federal policy is not devised by legislators in 2008. It stems from the concerted efforts of think tanks, lobbyists and academics. It's near impossible to truly be informed on an issue. I read the news and follow policy/political philosophy on a regular basis, and I only scratch the surface of the information available. Furthermore, an "elite" in one field barely grasps policy in another. For instance, I don't turn to Chomsky when I want to learn about healthcare or economics.
Because this study came from 1952, I'll cut Converse some slack (though I would probably punch him in the face if he ever used the word "elite" in my vicinity). But part of the problem of "an uneducated electorate" stems from the sensational slant of the media - which spends more time covering the scuffle between McCain/Romney than it does the reasons for their arguments. Even if an average person tried to 'stay informed," he/she wouldn't know where to turn.
I probably just spent way too much time thinking about this...uh, go Obama??
Posted by: davidm. at February 1, 2008 12:14 PM
In reference to the original post:
So... For example...
Dumb people should be encouraged to go fight and die in order to preserve our right to vote, but they shouldn't be encouraged/allowed to vote themselves?
...cuz we wouldn't want dumb people to corrupt our (cough) perfect election process. Let's leave the corruption to the people who really know what they're doing: the elites.
Posted by: Bill at February 1, 2008 12:23 PM
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