Very good Vox article about how democracy actually works.

[DanTex]

They interview two scholars who have written a book on how democracy works in reality, versus how we would like to think democracy works.

Worth reading the whole thing IMO, and it has big strategic implications.

My brief summary is that identity politics is the whole game, whether we want it to be or not. Collectively, the electorate doesn't examine policies and their implications. The electorate also isn't able to rationally figure out causes and effects, and thereby reward or punish politicians based on the outcomes of their policies. Instead, mostly voters choose politicians who seem to be on "their side", and then rationalize support for the policies of those politicians, as well as the outcomes of what those politicians do.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/1/15515820/donald-trump-democracy-brexit-2016-election-europe

[yallerdawg]

1. Jeez, that gets complicated.

I found a way to make an informed decision - and keep it simple!

I look for the (D) and I look for the (R).

I fill in the bubble next to the (D)!

That's a democracy that works for me!

Am I doin' somethin' wrong?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Except that it's not about 'democracy', but 'American voting'

They mention Brexit once, but don't actually say anything about it - it's just an 'and' with the election of Trump. Apart from that, there's no indication they've considered democracy in any other country at all. And they say practically nothing about elections for state legislatures or governorships either - one section when they say "but things work OK in New Jersey", which they put down to a lack of ballot initiatives, a strong state supreme court, and heavy party control over primaries. And all their national examples are about the presidency, rather than Congress.

So I don't come away with any idea whatsoever of "how democracy works in reality".

[Phoenix61]

3. Very, very interesting

People act on their feelings, not their thoughts. If they encounter a conflict they will skew their thoughts to get them to match their feelings. Overweight people will swear they don't eat too much because it just doesn't feel like they do. Smokers will swear it's really not that bad for them because it doesn't feel that way. There's a reason addiction counsellors say the biggest step is admitting you have a problem because people don't feel they have one, no matter how much factual date there is to prove that, yes, they really do.