My final substantive Balkinization guest-blogging post about Democracy and Political Ignorance focuses on the implications of widespread political ignorance for judicial review and the “countermajoritarian difficulty.” For those who may be interested, I addressed the related question of the implications of political ignorance for originalism, in this article.
Author Archive | Ilya Somin
Updated List of Democracy and Political Ignorance Speaking Engagements
For readers who may be interested, here is an updated list of upcoming talks I will be giving about my book Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter. In most cases, these events will last about 60 to 90 minutes and are open to the public unless otherwise noted. I will announce additional […]
My Balkinization Post on the Informational Advantages of Voting With Your Feet over Ballot Box Voting
By Ilya Somin on October 7, 2013 5:14 pm in Democracy and Political Ignorance, Political Ignorance, Voting With Your Feet
The latest in my series of Balkinization posts about my book Democracy and Political Ignorance is now up. This one deals with the informational advantages of voting with your feet over ballot box voting.
Justice Scalia Repudiates “Fainthearted” Originalism
In a 1989 article, Justice Antonin Scalia famously described himself as a “fainthearted originalist,” By which he meant that he would sometimes vote against the outcome dictated by the original meaning of the Constitution if strong precedential, moral, or other considerations cut the other way. Co-blogger Randy Barnett wrote an interesting 2006 article taking Scalia […]
Duke Leto Atreides on Political Ignorance
By Ilya Somin on October 7, 2013 10:45 am in Democracy and Political Ignorance, Political Ignorance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
I recently noticed that several of Frank Herbert’s Dune books are among the books that purchasers of my new book on political ignorance buy at the same time on Amazon. That brings to mind the following interesting quote on political ignorance by Duke Leto Atreides in Chapter 7 of Dune: “My propaganda corps is one […]
Democracy and Political Ignorance – Response to Two Questions from Orin Kerr
In a recent post, co-blogger Orin Kerr asks two thoughtful questions about the arguments advanced in my new book Democracy and Political Ignorance: whether the existence of political parties reduces the dangers posed by ignorance, and whether my argument for smaller government is undermined if it turns out that the public prefers big government. I. […]
My Balkinization Post on Whether Political Ignorance Can be Overcome through Education and Information Shortcuts
By Ilya Somin on October 6, 2013 3:48 pm in Democracy and Political Ignorance, Education, Political Ignorance
The fourth in my series of Balkinization guest-blogging posts on my book Democracy and Political Ignorance is now up. It explains why it is extremely difficult to overcome political ignorance through information shortcuts, education, and other conventional strategies for increasing public knowledge.
NSFWCorp Article on Eminent Domain Relies on Inaccurate Name-Calling Instead of Argument
The NSFWCorp website has published an article by Yasha Levine (subscription required) attacking me and other libertarian critics of the City of Richmond’s plan to use eminent domain to condemn mortgages. Unfortunately, Levine doesn’t actually answer any of the arguments against the plan advanced by libertarian critics. Instead, he devotes his entire article to claiming […]
My Third Balkinization Post on Democracy and Political Ignorance
My third Balkinization post about my book Democracy and Political Ignorance is now up. This one explains why political ignorance is a serious problem, caused in large part by the fact that ignorance is actually rational behavior for most voters. It also often turns out be rational for most of us to do a poor […]
My First Two Balkinization Posts About Democracy and Political Ignorance
My first two Balkinization guest-blogging posts about my new book Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter are now up. In the first post, I introduce myself and the book to Balkinization readers, and thank Jack Balkin and his co-bloggers for their invitation. The second explains “Why Political Ignorance Matters,” channeling John Stuart […]
Why the Obamacare Case May not be “Settled Law”
By Ilya Somin on October 4, 2013 11:10 am in Constitutional History, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate
Indiana University law professor Gerard Magliocca has an excellent Washington Post column on why the Supreme Court’s decision largely upholding the constitutionality of Obamacare may not be fully “settled law”: The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress, signed by President Obama, upheld by the Supreme Court and reconfirmed by the president’s reelection. Many of […]
Introducing my New Book Democracy and Political Ignorance
My new book Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter is out in print this week from Stanford University Press. The book argues that widespread political ignorance is a serious problem for modern democracy, one that strengthens the case limiting and decentralizing government, and for robust judicial review. Over the next few days, […]
My Forbes Column on Political Ignorance and the Government Shutdown
The Forbes website recently published an op ed I wrote on public ignorance about the issues involved in the government shutdown. Here is an excerpt: As a government shutdown begins, much of the public knows very little about the issues behind it: Obamacare and the future of the federal budget. An August Kaiser Family Foundation […]
“Terrorism,” “Hostage-Taking,” and the Government Shutdown
Some Obama administration supporters claim that Republicans who refuse to pass a bill funding the federal government are acting like “terrorists” or “hostage takers.” To some extent, this is just your typical exaggerated political rhetoric, similar to that of Republicans who absurdly claim that Obama is a “socialist,” for example. But it also presents a […]
Reality Imitates The Onion on Public Ignorance About Obamacare
In this recent article, The Onion pokes fun at public ignorance about Obamacare [HT: several readers and Facebook friends who alerted me to the article]: As debate continues in Washington over the funding of President Obama’s health care initiative, sources confirmed Thursday that 39-year-old Daniel Seaver, a man who understands a total of 8 percent […]