I Cast My Vote And All I Got Was This Lousy Government

I CAST MY VOTE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY GOVERNMENT

 The crisis of electoral politics and representative democracy in the 21st century

Tuesday October 21 at 8pm at The Highlander Pub

Given the increasing complexity of governance, with issues, influence and events intermingling at often blinding speed, does our democracy remain truly representative? Is it enough to say that by voting we are participating in a representative democracy? And what can we truly hope to get in return for our participation? Do the men and women we elect truly govern based on the will of the people?

To help animate the discussion, we will be joined by Prof. Yukio Koriyama of the Department of Economics at Ecole Polytechnique who is part of a longstanding movement trying to change voting systems that have traditionally favoured two parties, arguing that there are fairer systems that can better represent the kaleidoscope of voices and opinions in a given society. An expert on game theory, he also makes the claim that current voting systems award strategy and deception while minimising the power of the honest vote.

With Prof. Koriyama’s help we want to approach our discussion from two directions. First, by sharing our thoughts about the current state of representative democracy and the increasing disconnect between citizens and government. Second, by questioning the electoral process itself and whether by voting we are truly able to express our preferences and our desires and influence the policies that shape our world. To get an idea how this takes shape in the US, check out www.fairvote.org.

Big issues to be sure and especially relevant given the upcoming midterm elections in the US and increasing frustration with government and politics in France and across Europe.