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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 27
Page 57
... strategy works only when no majority of voters exhibits perfect consensus on all issues . Furthermore , condition two means that once the government has been elected , most citizens would rather have it follow the minority's views on ...
... strategy works only when no majority of voters exhibits perfect consensus on all issues . Furthermore , condition two means that once the government has been elected , most citizens would rather have it follow the minority's views on ...
Page 59
... strategy than for whom < Ź ( Ux ) , for that strategy . Admittedly , this is a very general statement , but we cannot make it more specific because of the enor- mous number of strategies possible when conditions one and two hold and ...
... strategy than for whom < Ź ( Ux ) , for that strategy . Admittedly , this is a very general statement , but we cannot make it more specific because of the enor- mous number of strategies possible when conditions one and two hold and ...
Page 63
... strategy is possible only if the opposition is sure ( 1 ) which issues involve Arrow problems and ( 2 ) which alternative in each issue will defeat the one the government chooses . Without certainty on these matters , the opposition ...
... strategy is possible only if the opposition is sure ( 1 ) which issues involve Arrow problems and ( 2 ) which alternative in each issue will defeat the one the government chooses . Without certainty on these matters , the opposition ...
Other editions - View all
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