What does public choice theory mean?

Public choice theory employs the tools of economics to explain real-world political behaviour. In particular, it seeks to examine politicians as individuals guided by their own selfish interests — rather than as benevolent promoters of the common good — to better design public policy. Nobel laureate James M. Buchanan, a co-founder of the theory with Gordon Tullock, defined it as “politics without romance”. Tullock applied the theory to electoral politics to often arrive at controversial conclusions — including why voting is a waste of time, and why voters have no incentive to make informed decisions.