Stigler argued the public rationally under-informs itself about policies with diffuse costs

Evidence

“The large mass of the public does not find it economically worthwhile to become well acquainted with the effects of policies which have small harmful effects upon each non-beneficiary.” (George Stigler, unpublished paper “Schools in Science,” quoted in Nik-Khah, “George Stigler, the Graduate School of Business, and the Pillars of the Chicago School,” p. 140) 138 Some evidence supports Stigler’s position: in a number of countries, it was explicitly socialist parties that introduced some of the most critical neoliberal reforms. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 1908

Categorization

• XREF: A rational-ignorance argument that parallels the public-choice logic used to justify technocratic, non-democratic governance of austerity. — connects to: Public choice theory treats all policy as self-interested coalitional maneuvering — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1583; Public-choice logic applied to economists themselves reveals built-in incentives toward rent-seeking theories. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 597; Policies persist even when their original justifications change — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2585 (+1 more)
• SEED: Angle: the rational-ignorance thesis as the intellectual foundation for excluding the public from economic policy decisions.

Broader Connections

• Stigler questioned the very usefulness of intellectuals in a rational world. #expands (0.82) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 796
• Public-choice logic applied to economists themselves reveals built-in incentives toward rent-seeking theories. #expands (0.78) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 597
• Public choice theory treats all policy as self-interested coalitional maneuvering #qualifies (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1583
• Policies persist even when their original justifications change #responds-to (0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2585