1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910808200703321

Autore

Elster Jon <1940->

Titolo

Securities against misrule : juries, assemblies, elections / / by Jon Elster [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2013

ISBN

1-107-23786-6

1-107-30184-X

1-107-31248-5

1-107-25495-7

1-107-30693-0

1-107-30913-1

1-107-31468-2

1-139-38276-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 324 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Classificazione

POL010000

Disciplina

302.3

Soggetti

Representative government and representation - Decision making

Abuse of administrative power - Prevention

Group decision making

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Contents; Preface and Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 The Normative Study of Collective Decision Making; I. introduction: individual choice; II. Collective Decisions; III. Collective Decision-Making Processes; IV. Good Collective Decisions; V. Good Collective Decision-Making Procedures; Arguing Toward Unanimity; Deciding by Aggregation; Deciding by Bargaining; VI. Strategic Behavior; Strategic Uses of Argument; Strategic Behavior in Aggregation; VII. The Benthamite Approach to Collective Decision Making; 2 Ignorance, Secrecy, and Publicity in Jury Decision Making; I. Introduction

II. Composing the Pool, the Panel, and the JuryIII. The Trial; IV. Jury Deliberation and Voting; ; Choice of Foreperson; Communication Among the Jurors; Recording Jury Deliberations; Giving Reasons; Revealing the Deliberations; Open or Secret Voting; Revealing the Number of Votes and the Identity of Voters; V. Conclusion; 3 A



Dialogue with Bentham; I. Introduction; II. Aptitude of Voters; III. Aptitude of Deputies; IV. Constitutionalism and Rights; V. Bentham and Condorcet; VI. Conclusion; 4 The Optimal Design of Constituent Assemblies; I. Introduction

II. The Task of the Constituent AssemblyIII. Location of the Assembly; IV. The Size and Duration of the Assembly; V. Elections to the Assembly; VI. Secrecy and Publicity - Interest and Passion; VII. Ratifying the Constitution; VIII. Conclusion; 5 Cross-Voting: A Study in Failure; I. Introduction; II. Voters and Eligibles; III. Cross-Voting at the Estates-General; IV. Cross-Voting in the United States, 1787-1789; V. Some Contemporary Examples; VI. Conclusion: The Fragility of Incentive Systems; Conclusion; I. Costs; II. Diversity; III. Overrides; IV. Indeterminacy; V. Political Will

ReferencesIndex

Sommario/riassunto

Elster proposes a normative theory of collective decision making, inspired by Jeremy Bentham but not including his utilitarian philosophy. The central proposal is that in designing democratic institutions one should reduce as much as possible the impact of self-interest, passion, prejudice and bias on the decision makers, and then let the chips fall where they may. There is no independently defined good outcome that institutions can track, nor is there any way of reliably selecting good decision makers. In addition to a long initial chapter that surveys theories of collective decision making, notably social choice theory, and a chapter expounding and discussing Bentham's views, historical chapters on the jury, constituent assemblies and electoral systems develop and illustrate the main ideas. This work draws on a welter of case studies and historical episodes, from Thucydides and Plutarch to the present. It is also grounded in psychology, behavioral economics and law.