Low-Information lawmakers

At the risk of oversimplification (inevitable within the confines of a book review), we have two basic choices for how we orient our political institutions, particularly Congress. We can try to impose control and clarity on the chaos by clear top-down jurisdictions (for example, non-overlapping committee structures with powerful leaders). Or we can allow institutions that will look at problems differently, embracing the value of diversity in generating different perspectives (for example, messy overlapping committee jurisdictions, with proliferating subcommittees). The second option brings in more information but diffuses power. “Information and control are in inherent conflict,” write Baumgartner and Jones. “The more information, the greater the problem of setting priorities or maintaining control.”