The first book-length treatment of political irrationality. Explains why politics often seems crazy: analyzes the biological and cultural underpinnings of irrational partisanship.

Caplan's description of "rational irrationality," along with the data he provides on citizen economic ignorance, provide evidence that citizen irrationality is costly.

Lakoff has been one of the key contributors to a contemporary understanding of political cognition. He has contributed the concept that most political cognition is emotionally linked to affiliation with an in-group, and that society can be divided into the "nurturant mommies" and "tough daddies."

The best popular overview of everyday irrationality...

An essential book, as it punctures the myth that the average citizen is desirous of more participation in government...

Fiorina and co-authors provide a convincing case that the so-called Culture War between red-states and blue-states is somewhat of a figment of the journalistic imagination. Americans are actually in agreement on most political issues.

Rubin applies evolutionary psychology to politics in a way which provides sensible and convincing explanations for the many of the most common manifestations of political irrationality.

An excellent and highly-readable assortment of academic papers dealing with the psychology of political participation.

A brief introduction to one of the key elements of irrationality -- over-confidence and self-justification...

The book by an economist that introduced the key concepts of the "voters paradox" and "rational ignorance," which political scientists are still struggling with today.

Al Gore does a good job of describing the extreme pressure of the modern society on the psyche of the solitary citizen who is trying to maintain a semblance of rationality.

Greg Palast has done Americans an inestimable service by providing behind the scenes looks at the endemic corruption that plagues our political system.

Schumpeter explained modern so-called "democracy" better than anyone else to date: as the routine rotation of power between slightly-different kinds of elite, accompanied but not directed by an electoral process replete with political nonsense. The people really have no political will, but they are soothed by the democratic myth that their will is somehow divined.

Joe Klein's pop jeremiad provides one more perspective on modern political irrationality -- the disconnect between campaign rhetoric and the nation's true policy priorities.