Summary Of Jason Brennan's Epistocratic Proposals

Jason Brennan defines democracy as any kind of political system, where the fundamental political power is spread equally among all members of that polity. Brennan suggests Epistocracy is a position that entails that voters (citizens) should be educated and have at minimum some sort of political knowledge. Concerning Brennan's four epistocratic proposals I will discuss, I will argue that universal suffrage with epistocratic veto is what I consider the least objectionable, while restricted suffrage and plural voting is the one I consider the most objectionable. In this essay, I will be discussing four of Brennan's epistocratic proposals: values-only voting, restricted suffrage and plural voting, the enfranchisement lottery, and universal suffrage

Hence, the discussed proposed theory does present an original perspective on addressing some of the democratic challenges. However, this proposed theory does raise questions about fairness, representation, and what exactly ‘competence’ entails. Consequently, this first epistocratic proposal is neither the most nor least objectionable. Brennan's second epistocratic proposal that I will be discussing is ‘Government by stimulated oracle’. Brennan uses Pythia the Oracle as an analogy to propose this argument. The hypothetical concept of ‘Pythia the Oracle’ refers to an oracle who is imagined to be wiser, knowledgeable, and better motivated than any group of people. I will be referring to this entity as Pythia the Oracle, just as Brennan does. Brennan suggests two options for decision making, firstly, we ask Pythia for advice and follow it (Brennan, 2016, p. 221). Secondly, we deliberate or vote amongst ourselves and then act based on the collective decision. The suggested superiority of Pythia’s advice is that even if Pythia is not always right, her advice is more reliable than collective decision making (Brennan, 2016, p.

Brennan suggests that the content of this exam could contain questions from the American National Election Studies (ANES), a citizenship exam, or logic and mathematics puzzles. Brennan suggests motivating citizens, governments could offer rewards such as tax credits to citizens who pass the exam and therefore earn the right to vote (Brennan, 2016, p. 212). However, a possible penalty, Brennan suggests, is that citizens who fail the exam might have to pay a penalty to vote. The main idea of plural voting is that citizens can earn more votes by demonstrating a higher level of competence and knowledge (Brennan, 2016, p. 213). Brennan notes that there might be a few criticisms of his proposal. Including, that this suggested system would create fear among people, and would create “philosopher kings” who have too much power (Brennan, 2016, p. 213). However, Brennan provides clarification, saying that, while individuals in modern democracies already have limited power, even in a restricted suffrage system, the typical voter influence remains minimal (Brennan, 2016, p.