16 December 2011

Uninformed Less Partisan People Tame Intense Minorities In Democracies

People who are not very informed about issues and have not very strong opinions about issues tend to side with the numerical majority of those who do have a point of view, even if there is a very intense majority that favors the other position. Thus, ill informed moderate voters may actually enhance democratic consensus building and prevent the tyranny of the minority. The empirically motivated conclusions are contrary expectations that uninformed individuals are swayed by the loudest voices.

Even a small number of uninformed individuals without strong opinions dramatically strengthens the consesus building process.

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