Much scholarly research never suggests a clear practical application for the public good. You can't say that about the work of Steven J. Brams, professor of politics at New York University. He seems to have an angle on everything. True to form, he has advice that could help detoxify national politics and pull the agenda from the grip of political extremists … and a better way to elect candidates in a political primary where there seems to be no clearly superior choice ... and how to pick a special congressional committee when important work needs to be done on divisive issues. Born in ... Read More
Brams: Use Approval Voting in Presidential Primaries
December 27, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
If Republicans are wondering about how to choose among less-than-inspiring choices available in the upcoming primaries — and how to sort losers from potential winners in a national election — they would be wise to sign up for study with Steven J. Brams. What happens in primaries of both parties, he says, is that the “field is crowded, the centrist is squeezed, the strong left candidate or strong right candidate wins. And it’s a disaster, in my opinion, for the country.” Brams says approval voting, in which voters can vote for more than one candidate — in some scenarios as ... Read More
Brams: Let Congress Select Super Committees
December 27, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Following the failure of the budgetary super committee to come to an agreement in the fall, members of Congress admitted to being ashamed of the institution and the implacable partisanship that stymies it. As part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling, the 12-member super committee of six Democrats and six Republicans from both houses of Congress set about trying to identify $1.5 trillion in budgets cuts for the next 10 years. Compromise had little chance, even though failure to compromise triggers $1.2 trillion in across-the-board budget cuts — an outcome few in either party publicly ... Read More
Brams: Negotiate Mideast Peace With Point System
December 27, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
With the Arab world and the Middle East in turmoil, Israel may soon find itself negotiating with a new and unfamiliar government in Egypt. When the uneasy neighbors do meet, how many points would Egypt bid, out of a possible 100, for Israel to bless the creation of a Palestinian state, especially if that calculation came at the expense of bids on other matters of importance to Egypt? Steven J. Brams has examined the current peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, negotiated at Camp David, Md., in 1978, as a way to test his theories about fairness and his recommendation that ... Read More
Why a Democracy Needs Uninformed People
December 15, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Uninformed people catch a lot of flak in society, whether they’re sitting on decision-making committees, choosing a new PTA president, or voting in a national election. Political commentators often daydream of a fully engaged and 100 percent knowledgeable electorate. New research, though, suggests these know-nothings may be more vital to democracy than anyone has given them credit for. Researchers at Princeton have discovered that the least informed among us may have a crucial role in tempering the most opinionated minorities. Surprisingly, they started off by studying fish. Iain ... Read More