ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT:Theparadoxc1massvotingisnot,generallyspeaking,matched byaparadoxicalmassattempttobepoliticallywelliriformed.AsConverse underscored,mostpeoplearegrosslypoliticallyignorant-justastheywould beif,asrational-ignorancetheoryholds,theyrealizedthattheirvotesdon't matter.Yetmanymillionsc1themcontradictthetheorybyvoting.Thiscontradiction,andtheillogicalreasonspeopleofferforvoting,suggestthatthelogicof collectiveactiondoesnotcomenaturallytopeople(asteachersofthetheory knowwell).Toequatepublicignorancewith"rationalignorance,"then,attributestoomuchtheoreticalself-consciousnesstopeople.Eveniftheirignoranceis notbasedonagraspofthecollective-actionproblem,however,people'spolitical ignoranceis"rational":butitislessamatterc1calculatingthelowbemjit likelytoflowfromonevoteinaseac1millions,thanc1encounteringthe muchhighercostc1beingwellinformedascomparedtovoting.Asthehigh costofbecomingwellinformedappearslikelytogrow,itmaybeadvisableto moveoffc1thepoliticalagendaissuesthathavenoclearcontinuumtoward whichamostlyignorantmedianvotermaygravitate.
