November 06, 2016
The Benefits and Hazards of Voting
Conventional wisdom has it that a) you have a duty to vote, and more specifically that b) at least in winner-take-all two-party electoral systems like the u.s., you have a…
All posts in: Democracy
November 04, 2016
Time for Political Disruption
The election is only a few days away. The most bizarre election in my lifetime, I think. The two major candidates are the most disliked pair of major party candidates we’ve ever…
October 31, 2016
Against Democracy in the New Yorker
Read a longish review here, forthcoming in the Nov 7 issue. See also the symposium on populism as a threat to democracy in Zócalo Public Square. My entry, “Much like…
October 18, 2016
Against thinking independent voters must vote for your candidate
This is a general response to those that insist a vote for a third party is a vote for the “other” candidate–the one you are so convinced must be defeated–in…
September 28, 2016
The Presidential Candidates and Civil Discourse
Well the first debate is over. There is no need to remark here about how crazy this election cycle is or how terrible the debate was. US politics has gotten…
September 27, 2016
Trump Will Probably Lose. Does that Mean American Democracy Works?
Most predictions markets and election forecast models predict Trump will lose. One might be inclined to say, “Ah ha! See, democracy works!” Two problems with that: 1. HRC isn’t that…