Why polarized politicians can represent citizens best
Wednesday, October 31, 2018 - 10:20
in Earth & Climate
Do ideologically extreme politicians deemed "polarized" misrepresent a more moderate populace? According to the article "The Delegate Paradox: Why Polarized Politicians Can Represent Citizens Best" published in the October 2018 issue The Journal of Politics by Douglas J. Ahler and David E. Broockman, that's not the case. In fact, they argue, enacting campaign finance or election reform to reduce polarization in government would likely degrade the quality of political representation. The authors note that they are not arguing that increasing polarization would necessarily improve representation. "Rather, the level of elite polarization simply implies very little about how well politicians are representing citizens' views."