Democratically Wrong: Voter Ignorance, Epistocracy and Democratic Experimentalism

Abstract

The ignorance and irrationality of the average democratic citizen has preoccupied theorists since the time of Socrates. In recent times, and in light of solid evidence emerging from empirical research, a new wave of epistocratic thinking has begun to emerge. In this work some of the central positions of the “new epistocrats” are analyzed to affirm that, although attendable, these positions fail to consider the aforementioned phenomena in their systemic and social dimension and therefore their proposals of institutional innovation are misguided. Secondly, it is argued that such an orientation would make it possible to appreciate the concept of learning as central to assessing the epistemic capacity of a deliberative system. Finally, some examples are offered of the kind of research programs and institutional designs that could satisfy the criterion of epistemic capacity as learning.