Competition Among Politicians

Whom do you trust to tell the truth? A long-running survey by the British pollster Ipsos MORI asks respondents which occupations they trust the most to tell the truth. Doctors, teachers, judges, scientists, hairdressers, police, and clergy were the most trusted occupations. Politicians, government ministers, and journalists were among the least trusted occupations. Why do we trust politicians so little? […]

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There’s No Such Thing as a “Will of the People,” But There Is a Public Interest

Last week, I discussed the book Gaming the Vote by William Poundstone with the Ethics & Economics Challenge students at MVHS. It’s a nice, readable book that drapes some heavy-duty political science in engaging story-telling. One of the concepts we discussed was the Arrow Theorem, discovered by economist and mathematician Kenneth Arrow. The Arrow Theorem shows us why there’s no […]

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