Rationality reconceived: The mass electorate and democratic theory
- 1 September 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Critical Review
- Vol. 12 (4) , 459-480
- https://doi.org/10.1080/08913819808443512
Abstract
Early voting behavior research confronted liberal democratic theory with the average American citizen's meager ability to think politically. Since then, several lines of analysis have tried to vindicate the mass electorate. Most recently, some researchers have attempted to reconceptualize the political reasoning process by viewing it in the aggregate, while others describe individuals as effective—albeit inarticulate—employers of cognitive shortcuts. While mass publics may, in these ways, be described as “rational,” they still fail to meet the basic requirements of democratic theory.This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
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