Equality by lot

A New Book on Lotteries

3 Responses

1. 

   Keith Sutherland, on November 2, 2010 at 7:47 am said:

   Well done! We’re all looking forward to buying a copy (glad OUP have pitched it at a sane price).

   Keith

   LikeLike
2. 

   conallboyle, on November 2, 2010 at 10:05 am said:

   but we will have to wait until publication in May 2011 says OUP. Looking forward to that, greatly.

   btw Peter, I see you are billed as being at Tulane. Best wishes for your new job, then!

   LikeLike
3. 

   David W Grant, on November 2, 2010 at 1:03 pm said:

   Congratulations, Peter. Glad to see more publications investigating sortition.

   I wonder if this issue from TheCommonLot website’s FAQ is addressed in your book? [particularly apropos on election day today]

   ===========

   What are the downsides of electoral balloting?

   First of all, of course the ballot is preferred to the bullet.

   The ballot however requires a certain type of person to put him- or herself up for candidacy. Such a person is necessarily of a particular psychological profile. That profile is only a small sub-section of the populace. Balloting — in and of itself — prevents realization of government ‘by’ the people.

   Furthermore there are the obvious drawbacks: financial wherewithal, rhetorical adroitness, media visage.

   Finally, the campaign is a contest. Many are attracted to the blood sport of it. That contest unfortunately drives the candidates to desperate measures — not only the attack ads that poison civil discourse, but also the unavoidable compulsion to make promises and to take positions whose purpose is merely to win the election.

   These reasons lead us to believe that sortitional selection of policy-making bodies will be the equitable, inclusive and wise ‘next step for democracy’.

   LikeLike

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.