Voters Live in an Alternate Universe in Which Facts Are but an Illusion of the Mind...is That Bad?

And what can we do about it?

Image from Tara Moore via Getty.

Democracy is the best form of government because it’s the only system that confers legitimacy on people who hold power. It is not the best system because people are wise or good at decisions — that is absolutely not the argument. Which is a good thing, because…have you met people? It’s a fucking freak show out there. Politicians and media figures don’t usually say “most people don’t have the sense that God gave a bucket of pus,” because they need those buckets of pus to sustain their livelihood. But the sentiment is true. We pay lip service to the notion that most people are inherently wise, but 90 percent of casual conversations and literally any episode of Family Feud blow that theory to smithereens.¹

This week, a Harris-Guardian poll found that large numbers of Americans believe things about the economy that are demonstrably false. Some lowlights:

• 55 percent of people think the economy is shrinking. It has actually grown for seven consecutive quarters, and real GDP growth (which accounts for inflation) has been positive in every year of Biden’s presidency.

• 49 percent of people think the S&P 500 is down this year. It is actually up 12 percent in 2024 after rising 24 percent in 2023.

• 49 percent of people think unemployment is at a 50 year high. It is actually near a 50 year low;

• 72 percent of people think inflation is increasing. It is actually down about 50 percent from it’s 2021/22 peak, though I’ll give people a bit of a pass on this one because the timeframe wasn’t defined, and also “is inflation increasing?” sounds a bit like you’re asking “does the value of the dollar continue to shrink?”

I don’t know what to do about these numbers except to drink. Drink and blame myself for following politics — why didn’t I develop a different primary interest? I could have gotten into woodworking, or become amazing at the yo-yo. It’s my own fucking fault for caring about this stuff when I could have been this guy: