--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] a �crit�: > Kevin Venzke wrote in part: >> "On a different subject, I'm wary of PR generally, because I'm not confident >> that the median voter is likely to be represented... Do "median parties" really >> exist? I want the electoral (and constitutional) method to guarantee that the >> median >> voter has a veto. (If it were possible, I would like to give a veto to every voter >> in a certain central chunk.)" > > Any system in which ANY subgroup of voters has a formal veto is NOT a > democracy. > > What is so good about the " median voter" that they deserve a veto?
On any issue, you could arrange the voters (i.e., the people being represented by the legislature) in a spectrum. Without the median voter you can't have a majority position on that issue. Thus if the electoral method produces a legislature that enacts policies that aren't supported by the median voter (that is, "median" on that particular issue), I don't think that legislature is particularly legitimate. I fear that PR methods may be prone to this kind of illegitimacy, because I think it's doubtful that a party would sit on the median. (Same problem with FPTP.) In contrast, with Condorcet especially, the median is the best place for a candidate to lie. Clear now? > How on Earth do you propose to select those voters worthy to exercise this > privileged right of veto over the majority ? A selection of people elected by Condorcet, Approval, or a variant should offer a good estimate at where the median is. As far as "privileged right of veto over the majority"... Well, I addressed that above. The imaginary median voter is crucial to the majority of voters; as far as the majority of legislators, I don't give a damn about them if they don't represent the majority of the voters. > This has got to be the worst idea I've seen posted on this list. > > THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY. Well, I don't think you understood the idea. But there are worse ideas in the archive... There was a fellow who wanted to take the vote away from the rich... Kevin Venzke [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? -- Une adresse @yahoo.fr gratuite et en fran�ais ! Yahoo! Mail : http://fr.mail.yahoo.com ---- Election-methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
