What Did You Say?

This is one of the themes of a new book by Ilya Somin: Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter.  Somin makes the point that the American public suffers from a bad case of political ignorance.  There are several reasons for the lack of political knowledge exhibited over and over again by the voting public.  There is the sad fact that public education at all levels in America either fails to teach American government in a competent manner or purposely distorts what it teaches as part of its leftwing indoctrination effort. There is the additional fact that schools and colleges in America fail to develop critical-thinking skills in students because the liberals who control public education do not want graduates to think—they want them to blindly follow where the left leads.  But one reason that had not surfaced until Ilya Somin raised it in his new book is big government.

Big government, because it is so inaccessible, has created a situation in which everyday Americans purposefully avoid political engagement.  Said another way, they choose to be politically ignorant.  According to Somin, purposeful political ignorance is a rationale response for an individual who thinks his involvement will do no good and that his voice will not be heard no matter what he does. A substantial number of Americans believe—and with good reason—that the president, Congress, and the courts will do what they want irrespective of what individual Americans want.  An example of why so many Americans feel this way about their government is Obamacare.  Obamacare was muscled through Congress without the support of the majority of Americans and over the strong opposition of Republicans in Congress.  Those Democrats who voted for it had no idea what was in the bill.  They simply believed what the president told them and voted for it.

To illustrate how Obamacare and other legislative initiatives that ignore the desires of the voting public contribute to political ignorance, consider the findings of a recent Kaiser survey.  A startling 44 percent of respondents did not even realize that Obamacare had passed and is the law.  Even more discouraging is that 80 percent of respondents knew little or nothing about the insurance exchanges that are a fundamental part of the law. Citizens can certainly be forgiven for being unable to understand Obamacare.  The few people who do understand the ACA are making a fortune as consultants explaining it to insurance companies and employers.  But political ignorance is not limited to specific acts of legislation.  According to Somin, a 2006 survey revealed that only 42 percent of respondents could name the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.

Throwing up their hands and saying “I give up” is a common response for people who are overwhelmed, and a substantial number of Americans are overwhelmed by the size of their government.  Hence they have stopped trying to understand political issues.  Add to this the substandard teaching most of the them got in public school and their lack of critical thinking skills and the level of political ignorance in America becomes understandable, although still unacceptable.  If political ignorance is a rational response to a government that has become too big, too inefficient, and too unresponsive, it follows that limiting the size of government and decentralizing it so that government is closer to the people is a good idea.  This alone will not solve the problem of political ignorance, but it is a necessary first step.