How Elitism Undermines the Study of Voter Competence

In: Critical review: an interdisciplinary journal of politics and society, Band 18, Heft 1-3, S. 217-232

Abstract

A form of elitism undermines much writing on voter competence. The elitist move occurs when an author uses a self-serving worldview as the basis for evaluating voters. Such elitism is apparent in widely cited measures of "political knowledge" & in common claims about what voters should know. The elitist move typically limits the credibility & practical relevance of the analysis by leading writers to draw unreliable conclusions about voter competence. I propose a more constructive way of thinking about what voters know. Its chief virtue is its consistency with basic facts about the relationship between information & choice. Figures. Adapted from the source document.