The Economics of Ignorant Voters. Bryan Caplan and Keith Knight

by | Jan 20, 2021

 

It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, aft er all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a “dismal science.” But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

Murray N. Rothbard 
Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature, p. 202

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Bryan Caplan is a professor of Economics at George Mason University

Buy Bryan Caplan’s books here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bryan+Caplan&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Bryan Caplan’s articles: https://www.econlib.org/author/bcaplan/

Bryan Caplan’s website: http://www.bcaplan.com/

Website of Zach Weinersmith, co-author of Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration: https://www.smbc-comics.com/ 

My previous discussion with Bryan Caplan: https://youtu.be/eBiP_kAlp70 


0:00 – Quote

0:37 – The Paradox of Democracy

1:08 – Are voters ignorant?

2:46 – Is the solution to educate the populace?

4:30 – Ignorance in the market v. political sphere

6:04 – Why aren’t ignorant voters humble?

8:39 – Anti-market bias

10:15 – Paul Krugman’s inconsistent free market criticism – Fallacy of Unattainable Perfection 

14:09 – Anti-foreign bias

20:39 – Pessimistic bias

24:15 – Thesis of The Case Against Education

25:20 – Thesis of Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids (unable to find corresponding video)

30:50 – Public choice theory

33:22 – Define economics

36:14 – Why some countries are rich and others are poor

41:10 – Profits over people?

50:01 – What makes wages rise?

51:11 – What made you an Anarcho-Capitalist?

54:22 – Most important thing you learned from Don Boudreaux?

57:45 – Favorite economist? 


BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/video/mZDGfeWO5Dzg/

LBRY: https://lbry.tv/@KeithKnightDontTreadOnAnyone:b/The-Economics-of-Ignorant-Voters.-Bryan-Caplan—Keith-Knight:0

Minds: https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1165818581248065536?referrer=KeithKnightDontTreadOnAnyone

Archive: https://archive.org/details/bryan-caplan

Keith Knight

Keith Knight

Keith Knight is Managing Editor at the Libertarian Institute, host of the Don't Tread on Anyone podcast and editor of The Voluntaryist Handbook: A Collection of Essays, Excerpts, and Quotes.

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