User:Lucasvb

Hi, I'm Lucas. I tend to write a lot, especially about democracy and voting systems. I was invited to post some stuff to this wiki to serve as future reference to others.

Contrary to most people who seem to engage with voting system theory, I prefer to take a much more cultural and almost anthropological or philosophical approach to the subject.

My perspective is about what we are trying to achieve by the process of making collective decisions, why such processes are desirable to begin with, and how different voting systems reflect those goals and principles.

My formal, mathematical approach to voting system analysis is based on $N$-dimensional $N\geq 4$, absolute political opinion spaces and multidimensional population distributions. To me, candidates, parties and voting systems are merely means to an end, so without having a clear notion of what the end is, we cannot hope to find the best means.

This perspective of mine underlies most of the content I post here.

Opinion pieces

The articles below reflect my own opinions, although I will strive to be as objective as possible on this matter.

• Utilitarianism is dead. Long live utilitarianism!
• Why Instant-Runoff Voting is only doubling down on the problems of First Past the Post
• The many unique unspoken benefits of cardinal voting
• Democracy is not an ethical principle: how societies can only reflect the ethics of its members
• Democracy is not the majority rule you are thinking of
• Effects of potential voting behaviors under score voting
• Rating as an interface: How rating candidates is more meaningful than rating products
• Drawing lines in the sand: how ranked voting is inherently divisive

Guides

The following guides attempt to explain (in details) how different voting systems satisfy various personal principles and goals with respect to politics and society.

These are meant as a different and more relatable approach than the arbitrary mathematical criteria or numerical simulation take in the formal literature.

• Is Instant-Runoff Voting the right voting system for you?
• Is Approval Voting the right voting system for you?
• Is Score Voting the right voting system for you?
• Is a Condorcet Method the right voting system for you?

Articles

• Reciprocal Score Voting
• Visual explanation of the Condorcet method
• Visual explanation of the cardinal methods