[{"id":290,"title":"The End of the Party: A New Approach to Parliamentary Democracy","sha":"a3434d93b3ca29a526c03e6a2fdce309","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Today’s party democracy suffers from two issues. First, members of parliament (MPs) should represent voters’ opinions. Yet their free mandate often suffers from obligations to vote in accordance with party interests and is therefore overridden by the group ([Cohen, 2003](http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2003-09138-003)). Second, due to selection processes, alignment with party policy facilitates success within that party ([Cox \u0026 McCubbins, 2007](https://books.google.de/books?id=gc1LkxwQtPIC)). However, those in power are not necessarily competent to solve current issues. Given the complexity of political issues, pooling expertise across party boundaries (similar to problem-oriented interdisciplinary science projects) therefore promises to be more fruitful.\r\n\r\nDecreasing membership figures point to voters’ disidentification with parties ([Van Biezen et al., 2012](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.01995.x/abstract)). Furthermore, the amount of data necessary to cast informed votes overwhelms many individuals. Voting advice applications (VAA) matching voters’ opinions to parties increase voter turnout and voters' propensity to seek political information ([Ladner \u0026 Pianzola, 2010](https://hal.inria.fr/file/index/docid/1059097/filename/62290207.pdf)).\r\n\r\nVoters’ interests may be represented more accurately by extending the VAA approach such that, like on dating platforms, voters obtain a “matching index” for individual candidates (rather than entire parties) who represent their values, opinions, and political priorities best. Once elected, MPs can be flexibly grouped by their expertise for given tasks and issues, regardless of party boundaries. This approach may increase voters’ identification with politics, ensure independence of political representatives and, eventually, enhance the quality of political work.","created_at":"2016-03-15T16:36:10.287Z","updated_at":"2016-05-14T04:36:20.428Z","zenodo_id":102098,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.47699","subject":null,"tags":["politics","matching algorithms","participation","elections","vaa","voting advice applications","political parties","democracy"],"vote_count":1,"view_count":1,"score":1.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":935,"title":"Menu-Board Theory of Voting","sha":"89bb974c2efeff5c73437c6c4f7dcd61","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"The dictum of Public Choice Theory is that politics functions as a form of exchange. This assertion is very much true of the process of voting, where participants either select policies or representatives to make policy decisions. Public policy is nothing about purchasing decisions. Any commodity or service provided by the state is a public good. The government provides services that the private sector cannot otherwise supply due to practicality or legal sanctions.\r\n\r\nThe suggestion that voting is a form of purchasing public commodities and services (e.g. roadways and defense) validates the Menu-Board Theory of Voting. This theory suggests that anytime political decisions are made through a democratic process it is analogous to ordering food from a fast-food restaurant.  The clearest example of this is the Marijuana legalization referendums in the United States.  Through voting to legalize the sale and consumption, voters are not just purchasing the right to ingest cannabis, but they also acquire other complementary public goods (the proverbial fries and a drink). Voters also gain regulations from the state government to reduce the spillover effects of consumers ingesting unsafe products.  Also, additional tax revenue from the excise taxes will serve as funding for other services.","created_at":"2022-04-25T20:43:16.078Z","updated_at":"2022-06-15T06:00:38.199Z","zenodo_id":6643873,"doi":"https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6643873","subject":null,"tags":["economics","politics","public choice","voting"],"vote_count":0,"view_count":1,"score":0.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":false,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null}]