Analysis Of Jason Brennan s Second Chapter Of Against...

In Jason Brennan’s second chapter of Against Democracy (2016) multiple topics are discussed pertaining to the political action of voting. Throughout this chapter Brennan explores the ideologies of rational ignorance and rational irrationality about politics, as well as the psychological benefits of holding firm to an irrational belief, and the cognitive biases or errors displayed in society. Brennan’s views create controversy and often times don’t seem to directly favor one another. Although I admired the viewpoints Brennan gave, I had a difficult time buying into the philosophical ideas he presented. As we progress in this paper, we will learn more about Brennan’s narrow view of politics being only associated to voting. Brennan created adequate argument for the philosophical measures he presents, however this strict polices don’t seem to equate with democracy in its entirety. Within the second chapter of Against Democracy (2016), we become aware of rational ignorance about politics and rational irrationality about politics. These two subjects hold considerable weight in Brennan’s expression of what it means to be political. Rational ignorance is when the costs of acquiring knowledge surpass the benefits of having that knowledge (Brennan, 2016). In relation to politics, which Brennan exclusively only refers to as voting and not any other political action, rational ignorance is when there is no benefit to learning political matter because you vote will not matter or produce