Ep. 355: Should We be Protected from Uninformed Voters? [REMASTERED]

Should voters have to prove their competence? How do balance ethics & efficacy in the world of politics? Dr. Jason Brennan is a Flanigan Family professor at Georgetown Business School who agrees that democracies outperform most historical alternatives, but suggests that some form of Epistocracy (meaning the rule of the knowledgeable) could be worth experimenting with. In other words, the more of an informed voter you are, the more weight your vote carries.  He covers why democracy may not be as bullet proof as we believe, what the practical applications of epistocracy could look like, education’s disappointing impact on informed voting & the right and wrong way to become a more informed voter. This episode originally aired on April 15, 2024 If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 136: VIRTUE SIGNALING. CAN WE MAKE IT STOP? NACHOS & NARCISSISM Guest:https://a.co/d/3INKj7z Sponsors: https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/  3:05 What is epistocracy?7:25 Is a "statistically informed" vote really informed?8:52 When IQ tests get weaponized11:00 Let citizens write the test12:52 Why civic education backfires13:37 The forgetting curve of civics class15:47 Voting as a collective action problem19:38 Do you have a duty to vote?22:05 Reproductive rights and the bottle-in-the-ocean problem23:45 Lottocracy: voting by lottery25:50 Should we vote on issues, not parties?26:41 Politics as tribal signaling28:55 Your brain on politics29:41 More parties, less tribalism30:50 Duverger's Law and the two-party trap34:28 How the electoral college shapes campaigns36:09 Finding trustworthy informationRequest to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/Follow me in all the places:https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/ [email protected]://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert