Two Nobel Prize Winning Economists – Erik Maskin and
Amartya Sen – propose a new system for America:
The Rules of the
Game: A New Electoral System
“Americans have
been using essentially the same rules to elect presidents since the beginning
of the Republic. …
Primary elections
for president have also remained largely unchanged since they replaced dealings
in a “smoke-filled room” as the principal method for selecting Democratic and
Republican nominees. …
These rules are
deeply flawed. For example, candidates A and B may each be more popular than C
(in the sense that either would beat C in a head-to-head contest), but
nevertheless each may lose to C if they both run. The system therefore fails to
reflect voters’ preferences adequately. It also aggravates political
polarization, gives citizens too few political options, and makes candidates
spend most of their campaign time seeking voters in swing states rather than
addressing the country at large.”