[Election-Methods] [EM] "Social Utility Will Look After Itself"

[Chris Benham]

Forest W Simmons wrote:

>Chris B wrote...
>  
>
>>Regarding "social utility", I'm of the school that says that to the 
>>extent that it is a real and wonderful thing it will look after itself 
>>if we do
>>our best to ensure that the election method is as fair and 
>>strategy-resistant as possible.
>>    
>>
>
>Random Ballot is already fair and as strategy-resistant as possible, so 
>there is wiggle room here. 
>

"Random Ballot" is equivalent to having a random citizen appoint the 
office-holder (i.e. "Random Dictator").
That isn't an  "election" (it's a lottery), so therefore Random Ballot 
isn't an "election method".

>How about maximizing voting power, i.e. the 
>probability that your ballot will make a difference in your favor in a 
>typical election?
>

In a large election, I wouldn't think there would be much difference on 
that score between RB and a normal
fair deterministic voting method.

Chris Benham



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