Category Archives: Democracy

Brexit Scenarios and some Advice for Brexiteers

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Paul Frijters

Brexit is the main political issue in the UK, competing with sex for the attention of the public. It is a daily gamble whether the news headline is about some politician fondling a knee 55 years ago or a row … Continue reading →

Posted in bubble, Cultural Critique, Democracy, Geeky Musings, Humour, Political theory, Politics - international, Social, Society | 11 Comments

Our countries need us.

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Paul Frijters

Humanity is at a high point. What our ancestors dreamed of is slowly becoming a reality: a world without hunger in which the vast majority of mankind live peaceful and long lives. We are not there yet, but in Europe, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Economics and public policy, Education, Ethics, History, Inequality, Information, Life, Literature, Philosophy, Political theory, Politics - international, Politics - national, Religion, Science, Social Policy, Society | 10 Comments

Changing the game – By John Burnheim

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Nicholas Gruen

Most contemporary discussions of how to improve politics focus on problems of representation and power. When I come along and want to thrust getting better decisions into the forefront and claiming that a certain sort of untried forum could get … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy | 6 Comments

Getting the right decision democratically – by John Burnheim

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Nicholas Gruen

In many areas of policy, particularly where relatively homogeneous communities deliberate about matters within their everyday experience, the informal processes of discussion in the community can, and often do, lead to changes in public opinion that in turn lead to … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Philosophy, Political theory | 6 Comments

The poverty of voting

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Nicholas Gruen

A post by John Burnheim. About ten months ago, John Burnheim wrote to me in terms I’ve reproduced on this blog previously. John was one of the early movers in academia exploring the limitations of electoral democracy with his book Is Democracy Possible … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Information, Philosophy, Political theory | 16 Comments

Now is the time for complacency: RBA v Bank of England edition

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Nicholas Gruen

Reposted from the Mandarin I In our contemporary lexicon ‘independence’ – for instance of a government body – is usually a Good Thing. 1 But if we’re thinking of independence as a good thing for an agency to have – for instance the Productivity … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Critique, Democracy, Economics and public policy | 6 Comments

Do Black Politicians Matter?

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Nicholas Gruen

Do black politicians matter Abstract: This paper exploits the history of Reconstruction after the American Civil War to estimate the causal effect of politician race on public finance. I overcome the endogeneity between electoral preferences and black representation using the … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Economics and public policy, Race and indigenous | 1 Comment