This book offers a comprehensive overview and critique of the most important political and philosophical interpretations of the basic results of social choice, assessing their plausibility and seeking to identify the links between the theory of social choice and the more traditional issues of political theory and philosophy. In this regard, the author eschews a strong methodological commitment or technical formalism; the approach is instead based on the presentation of political facts and illustrated via numerous real-life examples. This allows the reader to get acquainted with the philosophical and political dispute surrounding voting and collective decision-making and its links to social choice theory.

Discusses the most important political-philosophical interpretations of the basic results of social choice Presents a philosophical view, yet also incorporates historical and empirical material Offers an almost entirely non-technical approach to the topic

Inhalt

Introduction.- Majority Decision.- On Voting.- Arrow's Theorem.- Interpretations.- Pluralism and Majority Decision.- Social Choice in the Real World.- Some Conclusions.