The Promise and Peril of Epistocracy
- Author(s): Ilya Somin
- Posted: 9-2019
- Legal Studies #: LS 19-15
- Availability: Full text (most recent) on SSRN
ABSTRACT:
Jason Brennan's Against Democracy makes a strong case that democratic majorities' right to rule rests on shaky grounds so long as their ballot box decisions are heavily influenced by ignorance and bias. But his “epistocratic” alternative - empowering the better-informed segments of society - has significant flaws of its own. Ironically, the biggest shortcoming of epistocracy may be that we lack the knowledge necessary to make it work well.