The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know?

by Arthur Lupia, Mathew D. McCubbins

Most citizens seem underinformed about politics. Many experts claim that only well-informed citizens can make good political decisions. Is this claim correct? In The Democratic Dilemma, Professors Lupia and McCubbins combine insights from political science, economics and the cognitive sciences to explain how citizens gather and use information. They show when citizens who lack information can (and cannot) make the same decisions they would have made if better informed. As a result, they clarify the debate about citizen competence.

300 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 1998

About the author

"Arthur Lupia conducts research on topics relevant to politics and policy including voting, elections, persuasion, opinion change, civic education, coalition governance, legislative-bureaucratic relationships and decision-making under uncertainty. His books, articles and editorials address these topics by integrating insights from his interactions with mass and elite decision makers with tools and concepts from cognitive science, economics, political science, and psychology."