If you’ve ever wondered why many people choose not to vote, why legislation favoring special interests is so hard to kill, and why government tends to grow even when voters choose fiscally conservative legislators, you might want to brush up on public choice theory.

Roy Cordato highlighted key elements of public choice theory during a presentation for the John Locke Foundation’s Shaftesbury Society. In the video clip below, Cordato discusses an element of public choice dubbed the “shortsightedness effect.”

2 p.m. update: Click play below to watch the full 49:10 event.

You’ll find other John Locke Foundation video presentations here.