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"we get government even more detached from the popular will" Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels present an abundance of evidence that there is no popula

"we get government even more detached from the popular will" Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels present an abundance of evidence that there is no popular will. The public does not understand the issues. The voters do not know what they want. Achen and Bartels also make the interesting argument that when there is more than one issue (more than one dimension) it becomes difficult to build a 51% coalition that also has 51% support on every issue, and where there are, say, 100 issues, it becomes almost mathematically impossible to build a 51% coalition that also holds the popular position on every issue. Put differently, to win elections, politicians must advocate for some deeply unpopular issues. This is the most important thing to understand if we are going to understand "Why elections do not bring about responsive government." (the subtitle of the book).

lkrubner 5y ago
Of course, it would be possible to solve this particular problem (multi-issue voting lacking a 51% equilibrium) if voters had one vote for every issue. Not that there is any way to know how many issues a voter might regard as important, but giving voters more than one vote, and allowing the election of more than one candidate, does solve some of the mathematical problems that Achen and Bartels raise. On the other issue, that the public is ignorant of most issues, remains a real concern.
dragonwriter 5y ago
> Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels present an abundance of evidence that there is no popular will. If one takes that seriously, the solution is to abandon elections and the pretense of democracy entirely. Arend Lijphart, on the other hand, has shown that there is a public will, people do know what they want, and that democratic systems with greater electoral proportionality deliver it to them better and make them happier with government.
- lkrubner 5y ago
  "the solution is to abandon elections and the pretense of democracy entirely" That does not follow at all. The benefits of democracy have been well-documented -- as well documented as the fact that the voters don't understand the issues and do not know what they want. The evidence on both points is overwhelming. Those facts are not in contradiction to each other, rather, it is clear that the benefits of democracy do not come from the voters. The benefits must come from somewhere else: https://demodexio.substack.com/p/democracy-for-realists-part-2-of https://demodexio.substack.com/p/democracy-for-realists-part...

lkrubner 5y ago

Of course, it would be possible to solve this particular problem (multi-issue voting lacking a 51% equilibrium) if voters had one vote for every issue. Not that there is any way to know how many issues a voter might regard as important, but giving voters more than one vote, and allowing the election of more than one candidate, does solve some of the mathematical problems that Achen and Bartels raise. On the other issue, that the public is ignorant of most issues, remains a real concern.

dragonwriter 5y ago

> Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels present an abundance of evidence that there is no popular will. If one takes that seriously, the solution is to abandon elections and the pretense of democracy entirely. Arend Lijphart, on the other hand, has shown that there is a public will, people do know what they want, and that democratic systems with greater electoral proportionality deliver it to them better and make them happier with government.

lkrubner 5y ago
"the solution is to abandon elections and the pretense of democracy entirely" That does not follow at all. The benefits of democracy have been well-documented -- as well documented as the fact that the voters don't understand the issues and do not know what they want. The evidence on both points is overwhelming. Those facts are not in contradiction to each other, rather, it is clear that the benefits of democracy do not come from the voters. The benefits must come from somewhere else: https://demodexio.substack.com/p/democracy-for-realists-part-2-of https://demodexio.substack.com/p/democracy-for-realists-part...