Behavioral Political Economy and Democratic Theory : Fortifying Democracy for the Digital Age

Drawing on current debates at the frontiers of economics, psychology, and political philosophy, this book explores the challenges that arise for liberal democracies from a confrontation between modern technologies and the bounds of human rationality. With the ongoing transition of democracy’s underlying information economy into the digital space, threats of disinformation and runaway political polarization have been gaining prominence. Employing the economic approach informed by behavioral sciences’ findings, the book’s chief concern is how these challenges can be addressed while preserving a commitment to democratic values and maximizing the epistemic benefits of democratic decision-making. The book has two key strands: it provides a systematic argument for building a behaviorally informed theory of democracy; and it examines how scientific knowledge on quirks and bounds of human rationality can inform the design of resilient democratic institutions. Drawing these together, the book explores the centrality of the rationality assumption in the methodological debates surrounding behavioral sciences as exemplified by the dispute between neoclassical and behavioral economics; the role of (ir)rationality in democratic social choice; behaviorally informed paternalism as a response to the challenge of irrationality; and non-paternalistic avenues to increase the resilience of the democratic institutions toward political irrationality. This book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in behavioral economics and sciences, political philosophy, and the future of democracy. Drawing on current debates at the frontiers of economics, psychology, and political philosophy, this book explores the challenges that arise for liberal democracies from a confrontation between modern technologies and the bounds of human rationality.With the ongoing transition of democracy’s underlying information economy into the digital space, threats of disinformation and runaway political polarization have been gaining prominence. Employing the economic approach informed by behavioral sciences’ findings, the book’s chief concern is how these challenges can be addressed while preserving a commitment to democratic values and maximizing the epistemic benefits of democratic decision-making. The book has two key strands: it provides a systematic argument for building a behaviorally informed theory of democracy; and it examines how scientific knowledge on quirks and bounds of human rationality can inform the design of resilient democratic institutions. Drawing these together, the book explores the centrality of the rationality assumption in the methodological debates surrounding behavioral sciences as exemplified by the dispute between neoclassical and behavioral economics; the role of (ir)rationality in democratic social choice; behaviorally informed paternalism as a response to the challenge of irrationality; and non-paternalistic avenues to increase the resilience of the democratic institutions toward political irrationality.This book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in behavioral economics and sciences, political philosophy, and the future of democracy. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Information 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 11 Introduction 14 Overview of the Book’s Structure 18 Bibliography 22 1 The Paradigmatic Struggle in the Theory of Human Behavior 24 Economic Approach to Human Behavior 25 An Empire of Rational Choice 30 Behavioral Paradigm Shift 36 Toward a New Theory of Human Behavior 44 Predictive Success and “Realism” 45 Neoclassical Predictive Success 47 Behavioral Economics’ Promise 49 Conclusion 52 Notes 53 Bibliography 53 2 Democracy and Rationality 58 Choice: Individual and Collective 59 The Problem of Social Choice 63 The Problem of Rational Ignorance and the Wisdom of Crowds 69 Condorcet’s Jury Theorem 71 Miracle of Aggregation and Diversity Trumps Ability Theorem 74 Behavioral Political Economy of Democracy 76 A Democratic Equilibrium 83 Conclusion 85 Notes 85 Bibliography 86 3 The Republic of Misinformation 90 The Victim Narrative 92 A Question of Agency 97 Victims and Opportunists 101 Democracy Contra Disinformation 107 Conclusion 112 Notes 113 Bibliography 113 4 The Conceit of Behaviorally Informed Paternalism 117 (Ir)rationality, Sovereignty, and Welfare 118 In Our Best Interest 123 Searching for True Preferences 127 Democratic Preference Laundering 132 Conclusion 139 Notes 140 Bibliography 141 5 Fortifying Democracy for the Digital Age 145 The Landscape of Democratic Reform 146 One Step at a Time: Marginal Reform 149 Boosts 150 Budges 152 Democracy Remodeled: Radical Reform 155 Quadratic Voting 156 Open Democracy 163 An Anti-Psychological State 171 Conclusion 180 Notes 181 Bibliography 181 Conclusion: The Road Ahead 185 Bibliography 190 Index 191 Drawing on current debates at the frontiers of economics, psychology, and political philosophy, this book explores the challenges that arise for liberal democracies from a confrontation between modern technologies and the bounds of human rationality.With the ongoing transition of democracyâ••s underlying information economy into the digital space, threats of disinformation and runaway political polarization have been gaining prominence. Employing the economic approach informed by behavioral sciencesâ•• findings, the bookâ••s chief concern is how these challenges can be addressed while preserving a commitment to democratic values and maximizing the epistemic benefits of democratic decision-making. The book has two key strands: it provides a systematic argument for building a behaviorally informed theory of democracy; and it examines how scientific knowledge on quirks and bounds of human rationality can inform the design of resilient democratic institutions. Drawing these together, the book explores the centrality of the rationality assumption in the methodological debates surrounding behavioral sciences as exemplified by the dispute between neoclassical and behavioral economics; the role of (ir)rationality in democratic social choice; behaviorally informed paternalism as a response to the challenge of irrationality; and non-paternalistic avenues to increase the resilience of the democratic institutions toward political irrationality.This book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in behavioral economics and sciences, political philosophy, and the future of democracy. "Drawing on current debates at the frontiers of economics, psychology, and political philosophy, this book explores the challenges that arise for liberal democracies from a confrontation between modern technologies and the bounds of human rationality. With the ongoing transition of democracy's underlying information economy into the digital space, threats of disinformation and runaway political polarization have been gaining prominence. Employing the economic approach informed by behavioral sciences' findings, the book's chief concern is how these challenges can be addressed while preserving a commitment to democratic values and maximizing the epistemic benefits of democratic decision-making. The book has two key strands: it provides a systematic argument for building a behaviorally informed theory of democracy; and explores how scientific knowledge on quirks and bounds of human rationality can inform the design of resilient democratic institutions. Drawing these together, the book explores the centrality of the rationality assumption in the methodological debates surrounding behavioral sciences as exemplified by the dispute between neoclassical and behavioral economics; the role of (ir)rationality in democratic social choice; behaviorally informed paternalism as a response to the challenge of irrationality; and non-paternalistic avenues to increase the resilience of the democratic institutions towards political irrationality This book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in behavioral economics and sciences, political philosophy and the future of democracy"-- Provided by publisher