Ideology as Opinion: Polarization in a Spatial Model of Common-value Elections

This paper analyzes a spatial voting model in which ideological differences stem not from competing private interests, but from a spectrum of private opinions regarding which policies will best achieve a common objective–in essence synthesizing the canonical approaches of Condorcet and Downs. In equilibrium, voters who lack confidence in their information remain ideologically moderate and abstain from voting, consistent with available empirical evidence. Office motivated candidates converge to the political center as in standard models, but instead of utilitarian compromise, this may reflect a spatial version of pandering to the uninformed. Alternatively, candidates who care about policy outcomes may be highly polarized, each anticipating that truth–and therefore voters–are on her side. JEL Classification Number D72, D82