Myth Of The Rational Voter Analysis

Political scientists have studied the different types of political systems for over a century. Because of this extensive and comprehensive research, they have come up with many concrete theories, but have also developed many conflicting theories. It is up to the citizens within the nation to decide whether their government is effective, and whether there needs to be reforms to improve the state of the nation.
In Caplan’s article “The Myth of The Rational Voter” he states “voters gravitate toward the same mistake. They don’t cancel each other out, they compound.” This statement is supported by his idea of being rationally ignorant, where the consequences of holding a illogical belief are either very minimal or non-existent, so that the individual’s contentment of holding a belief outweighs the practical costs. These two ideas, whether they are true or not, are very dangerous to a democracy, for the ignorance of voters can have a major effect on all …show more content…
The United States constitution provides very few qualifications to be appointed as an elector. The only listed requirements to be an elector is to be chosen as a candidate by a political party, and then be elected by the public. (U.S. Electoral College nd). This alone does not warrant that an elector will be better equipped to choose the president, which brings the system back to the main problem; ignorant voters.
Despite any problems with the election system, the United States government is still highly effective with its three branches, the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and the executive branch. The legislative branch creates the laws, the judicial branch deems law constitutional, and the executive branch enforces the laws. These three branches have functioned through a system of checks and balances for over two hundred years. Any current problems within the governmental system must lay with elected officials or the election