The Case For Electoral Reform

Hertzberg defends proportional representation:

More accurate representation is one of the goals of P.R., but so is responsiveness. And there are plenty of others. A partial list: boosting the legitimacy of democratic government in the eyes of people whose candidates or parties lose as well as those whose candidates win; increasing participation; opening the policy debate to more points of view; discouraging irresponsibility, special interest influence, and scorched-earth negative campaigning; fostering civility, coöperation, and consensus; and giving fair representation to all kinds of minorities, ideological and political as well as racial, ethnic, and gender, while still guaranteeing that the government represents a majority of voters.

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