Re: The Electoral "College" and combinatorics

From: Bart Goddard (goddardbe_at_netscape.net)
Date: 07/27/04 

Date: 27 Jul 2004 18:35:13 GMT

Nora Baron wrote:

 
> It's an illogical, archaic system and it has flouted the will of
> the people

It is not true that it is "illogical". There are very sound
reasons for using it. You might make a case that the sound
reasons are archaic, but that, too, is snobbery. (Instead
of the elitism you complained about, you have instead a
chronological snobbery where we think we're so much more
clever and insightful in the 21st century then folks were
200 years ago. An assertion I doubt.)

"The will of the people" is not always "majority gets its way."
What the people want is for elected officials to be more informed
than the average guy and to make decisions based upon that
superior information. When we elect someone, we're saying
"please go study the issues and make choices that benefit us."

The "tyranny of the majority" is something to be avoided, and
the framers of the Constitution knew it. California, with all
of its referendums which are so easily put on the ballot is
a case study. If it's easy to have votes on things, AND the
majority always gets its way, then silly things happen:

1. Let's get a referendum going to raise minimum wage to
$100/hour. Such a thing would surely pass. And would
surely cause horrible inflation if it did not completely
destroy our economy.

2. Likewise, we could vote away our taxes. (CA being an
example.) We're all for that, but what a disaster.

3. If the "will of the people" is that all blondes become
indentures slaves, then should it happen?

The majority does not get to override the Constitution, and
for good reason. We are not a country of "majority rule",
but of "constitution rule." And thank God.

The checks and balances here are that candidates have to
please the people to stay in power. The people can't have
zero taxes AND the roads fixed at the same time, no matter
how much they vote to change the economy. But if the "ins"
don't upset them too much and the garbage gets picked up,
then the "ins" stay "in".

Bart

Relevant Pages

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