TIME AND INFORMATION

Why are so many Americans so poorly informed about political issues? Paul Krugman gave one answer in his essay "Rat Democracy" that was first published in Slate on 5/15/1997, reprinted in The Accidental Theorist, pp. 179-83. He cites a rational choice theorist, Samuel Popkin:

"Everybody's business is nobody's business. If everyone spends an additional hour evaluating the candidates, we all benefit from a better-informed electorate. If everyone but me spends the hour evaluating the candidates and I spend it choosing where to invest my savings, I will get a better return on my investments as well as a better government." As a result, the public at large is, entirely rationally, remarkably ill-informed about politics and policy.

There are other, non-competing explanations. One is the sheer amount of time it takes to be generally well informed. Given a full-time job and family responsibilities, it is very difficult for most people to even make time to become informed. Another is the prevalence on the GOP Noise Machine on talk radio. It's easy to listen to the radio on the way to or from work and the quality of the information on right-wing radio is VERY poor. A third explanation is the prevalence of authoritarian personalities in America, perhaps as many as 20% of the adult population. They are natural suckers for conservative agit-prop.