An Economic Theory of DemocracyThis book seeks to elucidate its subject-the governing of democratic state-by making intelligible the party politics of democracies. Downs treats this differently than do other students of politics. His explanations are systematically related to, and deducible from, precisely stated assumptions about the motivations that attend the decisions of voters and parties and the environment in which they act. He is consciously concerned with the economy in explanation, that is, with attempting to account for phenomena in terms of a very limited number of facts and postulates. He is concerned also with the central features of party politics in any democratic state, not with that in the United States or any other single country. |
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Page 102
... party's policies is competition with other parties for votes . Not only does competition determine the content of party policies , as we saw in Chapter 4 , but also it con- trols ( 1 ) their stability and ( 2 ) their relation to the party's ...
... party's policies is competition with other parties for votes . Not only does competition determine the content of party policies , as we saw in Chapter 4 , but also it con- trols ( 1 ) their stability and ( 2 ) their relation to the party's ...
Page 132
... party's platform contains only its stand on the proper degree of government intervention in the economy . Let us assume instead that each party takes stands on many issues , and that each stand can be assigned a position on our left ...
... party's platform contains only its stand on the proper degree of government intervention in the economy . Let us assume instead that each party takes stands on many issues , and that each stand can be assigned a position on our left ...
Page 133
... party strategy is to adopt a spread of policies which covers a whole range of the left - right scale . The wider this spread is , the more viewpoints the party's ideology and platform will appeal to . But a wider spread also weakens the ...
... party strategy is to adopt a spread of policies which covers a whole range of the left - right scale . The wider this spread is , the more viewpoints the party's ideology and platform will appeal to . But a wider spread also weakens the ...
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Common terms and phrases
abstain alternatives analysis assume assumption axiom basic benefits cause ceteris paribus citizen X coalition competition conclusion cost of voting decision-making democracy Derived from Chapter discount distribution of voters division of labor economic theory economists effect election period electorate equal ernment exist extremist fact favor free information free market gain goals government action government policy government's groups hence ideologies incumbents indifferent individual influence irrational issue Kenneth Arrow marginal cost marginal equilibrium maximize means ment motives multiparty system oligopoly opposition parties outcome Paretian optimum party differential party's pay-off political information political parties position possible preferences problem Proposition rational citizen rational voter real world reason reëlected return from voting scale selection principles social society strategy tion two-party system uncertainty utility functions utility income V. O. Key views vote-selling voting decision welfare Welfare Economics well-informed zero