Social Choice and Legitimacy

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Social Choice and Legitimacy
Effective governance is faced with dilemmas and tough decisions where decisions have to be made. In the process of making the decision, the selection of one option compromises the other that can have various implications. There are tradeoffs that have to be made in selecting a decision that are influenced by factors such as welfare of those affected, available information and opinion among others. Such outcomes contradict the views of issues such as democratic governance where all insights should be heard and applied where possible. Expounding on this notion leads to the questioning of aspects such as the national voting system and popular will among the people (Patty and Penn). There is need to assess the legitimacy of the outcome to avoid irrationalities.
Research Question
How do choices made in the voting exercise contribute to conflicting goals in the aspirations to provide a democratic approach in the reconciliation?
The need to establish a democratic system has bothered scholars and administrators for a long time. Dryzek and List present the deliberative approach as a way of achieving democracy in the society. Also, social choice theory incorporates the interests of the parties involved, individual preferences and views. The polling process provides the masses with an option to decide the course of action for their country. Research indicates that most of the citizens are ignorant and do not contribute to the process of reconciliation in achieving democracy and equitable distribution of resources (DeCanio).

To determine the outcomes of a voting exercise on the reconciliation process and democracy, an analysis of existing literature and frameworks on democratic decision making. The research will evaluate polling exercises in the US and subsequent political atmosphere.
Works Cited
DeCanio, Samuel. “Democracy, the Market, and the Logic of Social Choice.” American Journal of Political Science (2014): 637-652. Document. .
Dryzek, John S. and Christian List. “Social Choice Theory and Deliberative Democracy: A Reconciliation.” British Journal of Political Science (2002). Document. .
Patty, John W. and Elizabeth Maggie Penn. “A social choice theory of legitimacy.” Soc Choice Welf (2011): 365-382. Document. .

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