Call for reforming our democracies: rejuvenating the median voter

Fischer, Justina AV (2021): Call for reforming our democracies: rejuvenating the median voter.

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
• 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

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