The functions of public ignorance

Abstract

This article revisits functionalist traditions in the sociology of ignorance and reformulates them for the analysis of modern democratic politics. Moving beyond both early functionalism and contemporary approaches that treat ignorance primarily as a deficit, the article develops a concept of functional ignorance centered on voters’ inattentiveness and inconsistent preferences. It argues that democratic competition relies on a mechanism of mutual ignorance between political experts and lay publics: politicians remain uncertain about electoral outcomes because voters lack stable and consistently ordered political preferences. By comparing ignorance-based pluralist inclusion with pillarized and partisan democracies, the article shows how different modes of structuring knowledge and ignorance among electorates generate distinct consequences for democratic responsiveness.