http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1378/political-news-iq-quiz
Pew Research has released a study, which you can participate in if you’d like, on what the public knows and what it doesn’t know about current events. I’m frankly not sure what to think about the results.
First of all, what I am sure of is what everyone will be sure of, which is that the results are pretty dismal for a democracy. For example:
- Only 23% of American adults know that “cap and trade” refers to energy and environmental legislation.
- 58% of Americans think that Iran and Israel share a border.
- Only 33% of Americans know that Ben Bernanke is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
- Only 33% know that the Dow is in the range of 10,000
- 82% do not know that Max Baucus is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that has been working on healthcare legislation.
Here are some real kickers:
- Only 40% of Americans know that Glenn Beck is a TV and radio talk show host
- 44% of American adults do not know that the “public option” has to do with health care
There are also some non-surprises. Older people know a lot more about current events than younger people, and more educated people know a lot more about current events than less educated people.
What I’m not sure about is whether this changes my world view of politics.
After untold hours of arguing with conservative friends about the entire array of issues and philosophies wrapped up in politics, and having only ever convinced one or two to change their opinion on anything, I’ve come to believe that expending a lot of energy on convincing people of anything is futile. Calories are far better spent finding the people who already agree and convincing more of them to get their asses off the couch to vote and make phone calls than the other side. Turn out is everything.
Do these numbers challenge that? Could it be that if we can explain cap and trade to the 77% of Americans that don’t know what it is before the other side can, we actually have an opportunity to win them over? Could it be that the 77% of people who think cap and trade has to do with health care, or unemployment, or banking and finance reform can not be convinced otherwise? Or could it be that the 77% of people who don’t know this are just way more interested in who is winning Dancing with the Stars and they are never going to be an important political force whether they understand or don’t understand because they are never going to vote anyway. I’m not sure.
Aside from the obvious, as stated above, what do you think this study means for the pragmatic practice of politics?
Make the Next Left 
Took the quiz. Mis-underestimated troops in Afghanistan, then realized if I’d thought about it for even a moment, but well, I didn’t.
Have to say, I was surprised by the amount of demographic spread among the answers. Doesn’t shock me at all that more men than women know who Beck is, but the degree of difference on questions like who is the chair of the Senate Finance Committee was interesting.
Normally, I’d be skeptical of an effort to try to bring people that far out of the process up to speed and hope that you could do it well enough to get a reasonable result. But the spread in correct answers is an indication that there are probably a lot of people with marginal involvement who are closely connected to people more keyed in. (Would like a better survey to support the position, but if the numbers hold up …). There might actually be some value in a “tell your friends and neighbors” campaign. Think the AMA’s 1960’s era fight against Medicare with parties hosted by Doctor’s wives. (Granted they were unsuccessful, but they did give Ronald Reagan an entry into politics).