On Aug 15, 2008, at 7:40 AM, James Gilmour wrote:
Jobst Heitzig said:
It is of no help for a minority to be represented proportionally
when
still a mere 51% majority can make all decisions!
raphfrk replied
I disagree. The advantage is that it allows 'on the fly'
coalition re-organisation.
I also disagree, but for a different reason and even when there is
no chance at all of on-the-fly coalition re-organisation. A
minority of 49% can be very effective in holding the majority to
account and ensuring that the majority's proposals and decisions
are subject to public scrutiny. Here in Scotland, our 32 local
authority councils were all elected from single-member wards (small
electoral districts) by FPTP. We had become used to one-party
states, like Glasgow City Council where one party could hold 74 out
of 79 seats for just 49.6% of the votes city-wide, or Midlothian
Council where one party held 17 of the 18 seats with just 46% of
the votes. When such distorted one-party rule persists for several
decades the political effects are very serious. But we put an
end to that in May 2007 when we elected all our councillors by STV-
PR. Now there is effective opposition and scrutiny in every
council and the minority voices are heard.
We see something like that in my local five-member school district (on
the California coast hard by Silicon Valley). The electorate is
factionalized (never mind the issues) and there's a consistent 55-60%
majority that elects all five members. As a consequence, the board can
hold closed meetings with impunity. STV-PR (these are nonpartisan
elections, so party lists are out) would solve the problem nicely.
(Full disclosure: I ran for the board a few years ago, losing
respectably.)
I'm a little skeptical of supermajority or consensus systems, which
can easily lead to paralysis if an sufficient minority simply refuses
to compromise. The California state budget rules are a case in point;
a 2/3 majority is required in both legislative houses to pass a
budget. The result is a perennial budget stalemate.
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