Introduction to Social Choice Theory
Social choice theory is a branch of economics and political science that
studies how to make collective decisions based on individual preferences. It
seeks to address the challenging question of how to aggregate the diverse
and often conflicting preferences of individuals into a coherent and socially
desirable outcome. This field is of great importance in various domains,
including politics, economics, ethics, and public policy, as it provides a
systematic framework for understanding decision-making processes in
society.
In social choice theory, individual preferences refer to the subjective
rankings or evaluations that individuals have for different alternatives or
outcomes. These preferences can be related to political candidates, public
policies, resource allocations, or any other decision context. The challenge
lies in combining these individual preferences to arrive at a collective
decision that reflects the preferences of the entire group.
Collective decision-making involves determining a single outcome or
alternative that represents the "will of the group" based on the preferences
of its members. There are various methods and rules for aggregating
individual preferences, and different methods can lead to different outcomes.
Social choice theory aims to understand the properties and implications of
these aggregation methods, as well as to investigate fairness and efficiency
criteria for collective decision-making.
The roots of social choice theory can be traced back to the 18th-century
philosopher and mathematician, the Marquis de Condorcet, who explored the
mathematical aspects of voting. However, it was the work of economist
Kenneth Arrow that laid the formal foundation of modern social choice
theory.
In 1951, Kenneth Arrow published his seminal book "Social Choice and
Individual Values," where he presented his famous Arrow's Impossibility
Theorem. The theorem proved that under certain reasonable conditions, no
voting method can simultaneously satisfy all the desired fairness criteria,
making it impossible to construct a perfect voting system.
Other significant contributors to social choice theory include Duncan Black,
who developed the concept of "median voter theorem," and Amartya Sen,
who introduced the notion of "social welfare functions" to study inequality
and justice.
Over the years, social choice theory has evolved and expanded,
incorporating insights from various disciplines such as mathematics,
economics, game theory, and political science. It continues to be an active
area of research, with ongoing efforts to understand the trade-offs and
limitations inherent in different decision-making mechanisms.
Voting Theory
Voting theory is a branch of social choice theory that studies methods for
aggregating individual preferences to reach a collective decision. In essence,
it deals with the mechanisms and processes used in voting systems,
exploring how to fairly and accurately represent the will of a group through
the amalgamation of individual choices.
Voting theory is like the rulebook for deciding things as a group. Imagine you
and your friends want to pick a movie to watch. Each friend has their
favorite, and voting theory helps figure out which movie most people are
cool with. It's about finding a way to respect everyone's preferences and
make a choice that makes the group happy. Whether it's picking a movie or
electing a leader, voting theory helps turn everyone's opinions into a
decision that works for the whole bunch.
Preference Relations and Preference Aggregation
In the context of voting theory in the Philippines, preference relations refer
to the individual preferences of voters regarding candidates or alternatives in
an election. Voters rank the candidates or options based on their personal
preferences. Preference aggregation is the process of combining individual
rankings to determine the overall collective choice.
Majoritarian Voting Methods
Majoritarian voting methods aim to select a single winner based on the
candidate who receives the most votes, without necessarily requiring an
absolute majority.
a) Plurality Voting
In plurality voting, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins,
regardless of whether they have a majority or not. This method is commonly
used in Philippine national elections, where the candidate with the most
votes in a multi-candidate race wins the position.
Example: In a three-candidate election, if Candidate A receives 40% of the
votes, Candidate B receives 35%, and Candidate C receives 25%, Candidate
A wins the election despite not having a majority of votes.
b) Borda Count Method
The Borda count method assigns points to candidates based on their position
in each voter's ranking. A candidate ranked first receives a certain number of
points (e.g., N points for N candidates), and the points decrease for lower
rankings. The candidate with the highest total points wins the election.
Example: In a four-candidate election, if Candidate A is ranked first by three
voters, second by two voters, and third by one voter, their total points would
be 3(4) + 2(3) + 1(2) = 20 points.
c) Plurality with elimination
Plurality with elimination is a voting system used to elect a single winner
from a field of candidates. It's also known as the "runoff voting" or
"sequential runoff" method.
Steps:
1. Voting: Each voter selects their preferred candidate from the list of
contenders. They cast their vote for that candidate.
2. Counting Votes: The votes are counted, and the candidate with the
most votes is initially declared the winner.
3. Elimination: If no candidate has a majority (more than 50%) of the
votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated from the race.
4. Recalculating: The votes that were cast for the eliminated candidate
are redistributed to the remaining candidates based on the voters'
next preferences (if applicable).
5. Repeat: Steps 3 and 4 are repeated until one candidate achieves a
majority of the votes. That candidate is then declared the winner.
This process continues until one candidate has more than 50% of the votes,
ensuring that the ultimate winner is the candidate who is preferred by a
majority of voters.
