2. The Problem of Political Choice

3. Summary I. Why political ignorance matters. II. The extent of ignorance. III. The rationality of ignorance. IV. Shortcomings of information shortcuts. V. Foot voting vs. ballot box voting

4. Why Political Ignorance Matters

5. The Extent of Political Ignorance Chapter 1 The Extent of Political Ignorance Chapter 1 I. Ignorance about issues II. Ignorance about the structure of government III. The stability of ignorance over time IV. Ignorance around the world

6. “I love the poorly educated.”

7. Ignorance and Rationality Ignorance and Rationality Chapter 3 I. Rational ignorance. II. Rational irrationality.

8. Sports Fans

9. Political Fans

10. Shortcomings of Shortcuts Chapter 4 I. Types of shortcuts. A. Retrospective voting. B. Opinion leaders. C. Knowledge from everyday life. II. Problems with shortcuts. A. Require preexisting knowledge to use. B. Don’t account for irrationality.

11. Retrospective Voting

12. Voting With Your Feet

13. Foot Voting vs. Ballot Box Voting I. Informational advantages of foot voting. A. Less rational ignorance. B. Less rational irrationality. II. Implications. A. Political decentralization. B. Increasing the role of the private sector. C. Judicial review.

14. Retrieverocracy

15. The Sports Fan

16. Possible Strategies for Increasing Political Knowledge Chapter 7 I. Education II. Media reform III. Paying voters to learn

17. The Miracle of Aggregation

18. Political Ignorance and the 2010 Election Question (date of survey) % Correct Answer % Wrong Answer % Admit Don’t Know Know that Republicans won control of the House of Representatives, but not Senate in 2010 election (Nov. 11-14, 2010) 462727 Know Obama stimulus bill included at least “some” tax cuts (Nov. 6-15, 2010). 43543 Know that defense is the largest category of spending in federal budget (Nov. 11-14, 2010). 394219 Know Harry Reid is Majority Leader of Senate (Jan. 14-17, 2010) 381844 Know that John Boehner will be the new Speaker of the House of Representatives (Nov. 11-14, 2010). 382438 Know TARP bailout bill enacted under Bush rather than Obama (July 1-5, 2010). 344719 Know that economy grew during 2010 (October 24-26, 2010) 33616 Know John Roberts is Chief Justice of Supreme Court (July 1-5, 2010) 281853

19. The Rule of Experts

20. Overview of the Book I. The extent of Ignorance (chs. 2-3). II. The rationality of ignorance (ch. 4). IV. Shortcomings of information (ch. 5). V. Institutional Implications (chs. 6-7). 1. Decentralization. 2. Limited government. 3. Judicial review. VI. Proposals for increasing political knowledge (ch. 8).

21. Democracy and Political Ignorance by Ilya Somin George Mason University School of Law Stanford University Press, forthcoming fall 2013