Publisher's Synopsis
Political disinformation is becoming more prevalent and weaponized. Counterefforts, consisting primarily of litigation and social media oversight, have proven incapable of changing our direction. The consequences have been dire. Large segments of the population no longer trust science, the mainstream media, or election results. Compounding matters, some politicians and individuals with influential social networks are personally benefiting from these disinformation campaigns, meaning that they have no incentive to change course. The far-right intentionally undermines vaccine science and insists that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Similarly, the far-left treats capitalism as the root of societal evils, despite the clear worldwide correlation with reduced poverty and childhood mortality.
Weighted voting provides a viable alternative. It would incentivize voters to understand politically relevant science, civics, and economics. More fundamentally, it would reward the ability to differentiate fact from fiction and the use of logical deduction. This book presents a blueprint for how we can create a weighted voting system that is beneficial to both society at large and individuals, nondiscriminatory toward socioeconomic status or ethnicity, and potentially appealing to most politicians and individual constituents. Additional likely outcomes include:- We would move away from populist authoritarian candidates.
- Politicians would pivot toward ideology and substantive issues, instead of identity politics.
- Special interest groups would lose much of their influence.
- Platforms would move closer together, meaning greater consistency when we transition from one administration to the next.