Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Caplan, a libertarian, contends that democracies fail because of voters themselves rather than favorite scapegoats such as special interests. He argues that voters are regulated by four irrational prejudices:

1. Too little faith in the free market;
   
   
2. A distrust of foreigners;
   
   
3. Undervaluing the conservation of labor;
   
   
4. Unjustified pessimism that the economy is going from bad to worse.

Referencing those four biases are a reoccurring theme of Caplan's book that skillfully mixes economics, political science, and psychology to analyze how voters think and the public policies that result from what they want. Overall his book is compelling and provocative. On July 30th, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times referred to Caplan's book as "the best political book this year."

I concur with Caplan that for too many voters ideology is analogous to religious faith and evidence doesn't penetrate their entrenched worldviews. However, as a liberal I disagree with Caplan's equating skepticism about the free market or free trade agreements with irrationality.

In my opinion the free market isn't appropriate for all sectors of the economy such as healthcare or education and free trade has too many imbalances that require attention. Furthermore, I believe too many conservative/libertarian economists ignore the hidden economy that isn't measured by the Gross Domestic Product or quarterly statements. Caplan of course disagrees and I suppose by his definition I'm one of those irrational voters.

Each of us can become imprisoned by our own belief systems and it's healthy to challenge our perspectives. Caplan graciously agreed to a podcast interview with me over the telephone about his controversial book. Our conversation was approximately forty minutes.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST

This interview can also be accessed via the Itunes store by searching for "Intrepid Liberal Journal." Another option is to access a media player for this interview at my blog.