Should voters have to prove their competence? How do balance ethics & efficacy in the world of politics?
Dr. Jason Brennan is a Flanigan Family professor at Georgetown Business School who agrees that democracies outperform most historical alternatives, but suggests that some form of Epistocracy (meaning the rule of the knowledgeable) could be worth experimenting with. In other words, the more of an informed voter you are, the more weight your vote carries.
He covers why democracy may not be as bullet proof as we believe, what the practical applications of epistocracy could look like, education’s disappointing impact on informed voting & the right and wrong way to become a more informed voter.
This episode originally aired on April 15, 2024
If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 136: VIRTUE SIGNALING. CAN WE MAKE IT STOP? NACHOS & NARCISSISM
Guest:
https://a.co/d/3INKj7z
Sponsors:
https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/
3:05 What is epistocracy?
7:25 Is a "statistically informed" vote really informed?
8:52 When IQ tests get weaponized
11:00 Let citizens write the test
12:52 Why civic education backfires
13:37 The forgetting curve of civics class
15:47 Voting as a collective action problem
19:38 Do you have a duty to vote?
22:05 Reproductive rights and the bottle-in-the-ocean problem
23:45 Lottocracy: voting by lottery
25:50 Should we vote on issues, not parties?
26:41 Politics as tribal signaling
28:55 Your brain on politics
29:41 More parties, less tribalism
30:50 Duverger's Law and the two-party trap
34:28 How the electoral college shapes campaigns
36:09 Finding trustworthy information
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