On Nudge Theory
Tim Harford argues that referendums are bad for democracies: 1) Voters don’t think through complex issues end to end. Instead, they vote by doing what Daniel Kahneman described in his bestseller, Thinking, Fast and Slow : “When faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead, usually without noticing the substitution.” As an example of that, Harford says: “The difficult question in a referendum might be, “Should the UK remain in the EU?”; the easier substitution is, “Do I like the way this country is going?” 2) Political parties serve as a proxy for certain ideologies. But during a referendum, that doesn’t apply. So voters should think harder. But, as we saw in #1, they don’t do that. 3) Referendums are binding. That means the people we elect “to make considered choices on our behalf” have no choice but to execute the outcome of the referendum. Whether or not they agree with it. 4) There’s no accountability for a bad choice.