Most voters in a democracy remain largely ignorant of politics, policy issues, and candidates. And their ignorance is rational, since they have such a small likelihood of affecting the outcome of a particular election. Efforts to ensure that voters become more well-informed haven’t led to much success. So it makes more sense to limit the areas of our lives subject to the effects of political decision making.

That’s a rough outline of the argument George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin makes in the forthcoming book Democracy and Political Ignorance, scheduled for publication this fall. Somin previewed the book during an hourlong presentation for Campbell University’s Politics, Law, and Economics Lecture Series. Click play below to watch this speech.