[EM] Re: majority rule, mutinous pirates, and voter strategy

[James Gilmour]

Stephane Rouillon Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 5:44 AM
> Criterias and electoral methods hare not meant to 
> cope for a fractionated electorate. An electoral system 
> goal is to get the electorate will, whatever it is.

This may be true for single-winner elections, eg city mayor, state governor, but fractionated electorates are the
realities of politics in the real world.

For elections to councils, assemblies and legislatures it is only one view of the goal of an electoral system.  Those
steeped in social choice theory believe that the purpose of a voting system should be to maximise representation of
consensus among the electors.  But there is a much older view: that the purpose of a voting system should be to maximise
representation of the diversity among the electors.

James Gilmour