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A common trope (e.g. with Brexit) about "the poor" is that they always vote for the "populist"/"authoritarian"/"evil" party. Some claim that there should some sort of an intelligence test or a wealth threshold that people must pass in order to gain suffrage.

But is it actually proven that "the poor" make the "bad" decisions when it comes to voting? Did someone crunch the numbers to find a reasonable correlation?

Let us define "bad decisions" as those made under an unconscious influence. A person votes for a decision that actually harms this very voter (or their social group). However, if the same person were provided with full, objective information about the possible outcomes of a decision, their vote would be different or just the opposite.

This also includes voting for a politician or a political party whose promises or actions lead to such decision.

Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
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JonathanReez
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    Your own personal utility function does not make something intrinsically "evil" or even "bad". This question is insulting, at best. It's like saying "do the cosmopolitans always vote for their own individual benefit at the expense of the common people because they've destroyed the cultural and socioeconomic foundation of their country by means of globalization, mass wealth transfer, immigration, and widespread financial malpractice?" – easymoden00b May 03 '17 at 14:00
  • @easymoden00b if a better set of criteria exists - I'm fine with it as well. I'm just trying to find data on whether or not the "poor voters are destroying us" theory is right or wrong – JonathanReez May 03 '17 at 14:01
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    I VTC as opinion-based because, even among members of a given economic class, what is 'good' for them is incredibly subjective, and everyone has different priorities whether they are economic, social, or even something else entirely. –  May 03 '17 at 15:11
  • There are plenty of examples in history of systems where only the wealthiest voted that you can look into. For instance, a rather significant sum (for poor people) was necessary to vote during the french restauration of the monarchy. – user5751924 May 04 '17 at 11:14
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    A concept that may be relevant: Low information voter – Golden Cuy May 04 '17 at 13:19
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    This would be a good question if there were some more objective standard to define "bad decisions". "Unconscious influence" isn't quite the same thing, and as far as I can it isn't very feasible to measure either. – Brian Z May 04 '17 at 13:34
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    This seems fundamentally opinion-based. Who is to say whether a voter's decision is bad or good? – J Doe May 04 '17 at 18:37

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