The Responsible Electorate: Rationality in Presidential Voting, 1936–1960

by V.O. Key Jr.

Book by V. O. Key Jr.

Genres: Political Science

179 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little book. This was V. O. Key's final volume; he died before it was published. Perhaps it is most famously summarized by his quotation (Page 7): "The perverse and unorthodox argument of this little book is that voters are not fools." In short, something like a populist work on voting behavior.

Throughout the book, he uses a variety of data--adopting very simple statistical techniques--to develop this point. For instance, he shows that voters who support one party in an election and who then become dissatisfied with that party after the election tend to switch their votes at the next election to the other party. Thus, voters are not Pavlovian dogs, ritually supporting the same party over and over.

All in all, a classic little book. It is still worth rereading a half century after its publication.

[Alex]

Interesting analysis of US Politics and rationality in voting behavior, but I'd be curious to see how the theories posited in this book stand up to the status quo. I feel there are many instances where polarization, echo chambers, and the disfunction of government systems would influence, or in some cases, invalidate, the conclusions reached in the book. Regardless, it's an exciting snapshot into American political science at the time.

[Kevin Sood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would normally give this book three stars but the argument that Keys makes is compelling, that voters are not just an irrational mob swayed by the oratory of leaders, but rational units capable of refelecting on political progress in order to make informed decisions.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

just remember

TRUMP voters

NOT an irrational mob

swayed by WERDS

BUT

RATIONAL UNITS

capable of reflection on the POLITICAL

and make

INFORMED
decisions

.....................

You might call voters a bunch of fucking sheep
or foreign leaders non-rational actors

but you're wrong by not truly understanding what makes them tick

when you take a peek inside the UNIVAC 3300

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Skull Systems Incorporated