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PaperclipPerfector  8mo ago (text post)   3205 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 8, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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A question on voting. Ireland, where I live, uses the "single transferable vote" system. Irish people often favourably contrast it with the "first past the post" used in the UK. I was trying to explain the differences between the two to my girlfriend and illustrate the weaknesses of first past the post relative to STV. One weakness that jumps out even at a casual inspection is that first past the post massively incentivises tactical voting, which by extension likely gives a home advantage to incumbents. Are there any other significant weaknesses to first past the post? Conversely, are there any weaknesses to STV that make first past the post preferable?

What do you consider a strength or weakness of a democratic system? Does the voter knowing the coalition that would come into power before the election matter? Does a leader having a majority of affirmation votes matter as a matter of legitimacy or political influence? Do party platforms that are harder to abandon on grounds of coalition negotiations count as a strength or weakness?

Different systems do different things, and the nature of the vote-counting is just part of it, as is the nature of the party structure itself. British FPP is based on a parliamentary party system in which there are strong parties and weak ministers who depend on the party to run on the ticket, which is a stark contrast to American FPP where the candidates are far more independent of party control.

Ultimately there is no 'best' system because any system has grounds for being criticized as flawed and illegitimate. Legitimacy is what people make of it, but there's no counter-argument if faith is lost.

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