I haven't read the book, but this review seems very thorough and fair. Good context added, although there should be more evidence along with it. Evidence from the book itself is sufficient.

A sobering look at the weaknesses of democracy, though rather flawed as it suggests economistic values must prevail (an assumption the reviewer barely chides) and also neglecting to acknowledge the possibility that democracy does work rather well in other countries where people are better educated and more civic-minded.

The story is a good review of the book, but not an "article" in the sense that it does not examine Bryan Caplan's premises--forinstance, that every economist knows "he average person actually benefits from market competition, which provides the best product at the lowest price; from free trade with other countries, which (for American consumers) usually lowers the cost of labor and thus the price of goods; and from technological change, which redistributes labor from less productive to more productive enterprises." Economists may know this, but economists are talking about average persons as consumers only, not as producers/laborers. Hence the information of the economists is faulty. The average person's assessment of economic ... More »