The choice argument for proportional representation

Abstract

What electoral system should a democracy choose? I argue for proportional representation (PR). My main empirical premise is Duverger's law: Under PR there are more viable candidates in district-level elections than there are under single-member plurality (SMP) systems. My main normative premise is that democracy is valuable because it enables ordinary citizens to rule themselves. To enjoy the value of self-rule, citizens must be able to make an autonomous vote choice. Yet, how autonomous any choice is depends on the diversity of one's adequate options. The fewer adequate options one can choose between, the less autonomous is one's choice. So PR augments self-rule by increasing the diversity of acceptable options citizens have at election time.