Asymmetric information in politics

The Nobel Prize in Economics for 2002 went to three economists who established the ground rules on the 'economics of information'. It deals with asymmetric information between the interacting groups concerned. In plain language, in many cases, the playing field is not level; some known, some unknown. It is an old trick used by the old traditional merchants and the rural moneylenders for generations in this part of the world (the victims were mostly the illiterates and those less educated). Now the tools have been identified, and the processing analysed; and the system seems to work. Its application in the third world would be revolutionary, if successful. The question is not whether it could be done, but whether the big vested groups would allow it.
This hypothesis should apply in other fields also, for, example, politics. The politicians are past masters in practicing the art of asymmetric information, and thrive on it, taking advantage of the ignorance of the public or the electorate, and showing one side of the coin to the voters. The mass media intervenes and provides some relief (the rule of the journalists and analysts), but the political culture is not changing fast enough in Bangladesh to be more people-oriented. The role of the opposition in the parliament is to balance this asymmetric flow of information. The strength of the opposition is immaterial, as the opposition provides a channel or mechanism for messages, analysis and criticism suppressed by the ruling regime.