Democracy, political equality, and majority rule
Democracy, political equality, and majority rule
Democracy is commonly associated with political equality and/or majority rule. This essay shows that these three ideas are conceptually separate, so the transition from any one to another stands in need of further substantive argument, which is not always adequately given. It does this by offering an alternative decision-making mechanism, called lottery voting, in which all individuals cast votes for their preferred options but, instead of these being counted, one is randomly selected and that vote determines the outcome. This procedure is democratic and egalitarian, since all have an equal chance to influence outcomes, but obviously not majoritarian.
148-177
Saunders, Ben
aed7ba9f-f519-4bbf-a554-db25b684037d
1 October 2010
Saunders, Ben
aed7ba9f-f519-4bbf-a554-db25b684037d
Saunders, Ben
(2010)
Democracy, political equality, and majority rule.
Ethics, 121 (1), .
(doi:10.1086/656474).
Abstract
Democracy is commonly associated with political equality and/or majority rule. This essay shows that these three ideas are conceptually separate, so the transition from any one to another stands in need of further substantive argument, which is not always adequately given. It does this by offering an alternative decision-making mechanism, called lottery voting, in which all individuals cast votes for their preferred options but, instead of these being counted, one is randomly selected and that vote determines the outcome. This procedure is democratic and egalitarian, since all have an equal chance to influence outcomes, but obviously not majoritarian.
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Published date: 1 October 2010
Organisations:
Faculty of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences
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Local EPrints ID: 370348
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/370348
ISSN: 0014-1704
PURE UUID: 553493fa-86d5-4e9f-890c-bbfa9e9c333e
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Date deposited: 22 Oct 2014 10:42
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:50
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