Fischer, Justina AV (2021): Call for reforming our democracies: rejuvenating the median voter.
Preview |
PDF
MPRA_paper_111240.pdf Download (195kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Aging populations threaten the future of Western societies and their democratic systems. An aging electorate leads to policies dominated by fear (of death), hindering important social reforms. This article describes this phenomenon from a political philosophy and behavioral psychology perspective and proposes a solution based on a new interpretation of social contract theory. Specifically, I propose the down-weighing of ballots of older voters by their remaining lifespans. I conclude with a discussion of the justice and the fairness of my proposal from the perspective of political philosophy and public economics.
Item Type: | MPRA Paper |
---|---|
Original Title: | Call for reforming our democracies: rejuvenating the median voter |
Language: | English |
Keywords: | median voter; social contract; aging population; voting |
Subjects: | H - Public Economics > H0 - General I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J10 - General Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology |
Item ID: | 111240 |
Depositing User: | Justina AV Fischer |
Date Deposited: | 27 Dec 2021 18:00 |
Last Modified: | 27 Dec 2021 18:00 |
References: | Bodin, Jean (1576), Les six livres de la République (The six books about the republic) Black, Duncan (1948), On the Rationale of Group Decision-making. Cattell, R. B. (1963). "Theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence: A critical experiment", Journal of Educational Psychology 54: 1–22. Cicero, Marcus Tullius, De re publica (engl. On the Commonwealth) Desjardins, Richard; Warnke, Arne Jonas (2012), Ageing and Skills: A Review and Analysis of Skill Gain and Skill Loss Over the Lifespan and Over Time, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 72, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k9csvw87ckh-en Downs, Anthony (1957), An Economic Theory of Democracy, Stanford File, Thom (2016), Characteristics of Voters in the Presidential Election of 2016, in: Current Population Survey Reports, P20-582, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2016. Heraclitus, in e.g.: The Art and Thought of Heraclitus: A New Arrangement and Translation of the Fragments with Literary and Philosophical Commentary (1981), Cambridge University Press Hobbes, Thomas (1647), Elementa Philosophica de Cive Hotelling, Harold (1929), "Stability in Competition", The Economic Journal 39 (153): 41–57. Kirkwood, Thomas B. L. (2002), “The Evolution of Aging”, Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, 123(7): 737-45. Lerner, Jennifer S., Li, Ye, and Weber, Elke U. (2013), The Financial Costs of Sadness, Psychological Science 24 (1), 72-79 Locke, John (1689), Two Treatise of Government. In the Former, The False Principles and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, And His Followers, are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter is an Essay concerning The True Original, Extent, and End of Civil-Government. Loewenstein, George, and Prelec, Drazen (1992), “Anomalies in Intertemporal Choice: Evidence and an Interpretation”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107 (2), 573-597 Meier, Stephan, and Charles, Sprenger (2010), Present-Biased Preferences and Credit Card Borrowing, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2(1), 193-210 Müller, Andreas (2015), Auf dem Weg zur Gerontokratie?, in: Avenir Suisse No. 42791, in: Bürgerstaat und Staatsbürger: Milizpolitik zwischen Mythos und Moderne, Verlag: Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Auszug: https://www.humanrights.ch/cms/upload/190722CH-95-35_Alterung-Demokratie_DE-1.pdf Pieroth, Bodo und Bernhard Schlink (1994), Grundrechte: Staatsrecht II, Heidelberg: C.F. Müller Juristischer Verlag. Plato, Politeia (the Republic) Rawls, John (1971), A Theory of Justice Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1755), Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes (engl. Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men). Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1762), Du contrat social ou Principes du droit politique (engl. The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right) Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1762), Émile, ou De l’éducation (engl. Emile, or On Education). Thiel, Georg (2017), Pressekonferenz “Repräsentative Wahlstatistik Bundestagswahl 2017 am 26. Januar 2018 in Berlin: Statement des Bundeswahlleiters Dr. Georg Thiel”, https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressekonferenzen/2018/Repr-Wahlstatistik-2017/statement-repr-wstat.pdf, downloaded 4th April 2021 Yim, Soojin (2013), The acquisitiveness of youth: CEO age and acquisition behavior, Journal of Financial Economics 108 (1), 250-273 |
URI: | https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/111240 |