Customer Reviews

Real Choices/ New Voices

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a "must read" for anyone who is serious about reforming the electoral system. It is cogent and well written. It covers the arguments for and against PR (proportional representation), and has useful nuts-and-bolts appendices.

I strongly recommend it.

"Real Choices, New Voices" first was published when the movement for proportional representation in the United States was hardly a blip on the radar screen, back in 1993. Now we have seen a major referendum on it, serious discussion about "PR" in numerous states and an ongoing international trend toward PR systems. Amy's book has been a key reason why -- his arguments are clear, powerful and well-supported with evidence. Once a reader reads "Real Choices, New Voices," he or she will never be able to look at our democracy in the same way. If you think our system is working, don't worry about the book -- if you're like the rest of us, I'd urge you to get a copy today!

Douglas J. Amy's statist propaganda is morally bankrupt, mindless, economically dysfunctional, violent, and has been thoroughly debunked by libertarian intellectuals.

The author's only claim to notability comes from defending the very gang of thugs who sign his paychecks!

The book is a good introduction to voting systems, but it is very much a book of advocacy. Amy favors proportional representation (PR), and as a result he tends to minimize the defects and maximize the advantages of PR systems and maximize the defects and minimize the advantages of anything else.

If you just want an introduction to voting systems, I recommend David M. Farrell's book, "Electoral Systems."