[EM] pairwise, fairness, and information content

[Alex Small]

Craig Carey said:
>> See, no use of the number of winners. Yet at this list the persons that
> write tend to restrict the number of winners to be 1, when it seems far
> from obvious how the mathematics of fairness for voters and candidates,
> would lead to that.


It tends to be inconvenient to have more than 1 mayor, governor, sherriff,
or other executive officer for a given constituency.  That simple fact,
rather than any axiom of mathematics, is the motivation for studying
single-winner methods.  Of course, concerns of fairness (founded in either
math, ethics, or politics) lead to the study of multi-winner methods for
legislatures and similar bodies, but on this list the greatest
intellectual interest seems to be in single-winner methods.

Perhaps if all of society were more mathematically enlightened we would be
open to having 20 simulataneous mayors.  Or perhaps not....


Alex


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