Numbers Rule : The Vexing Mathematics of Democracy, from Plato to the Present

by Szpiro, George G.

• ISBN13: 9781400834440
• ISBN10: 1400834449
• Copyright: 2010-04-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Since the very birth of democracy in ancient Greece, the simple act of voting has given rise to mathematical paradoxes that have puzzled some of the greatest philosophers, statesmen, and mathematicians.Numbers Ruletraces the epic quest by these thinkers to create a more perfect democracy and adapt to the ever-changing demands that each new generation places on our democratic institutions.In a sweeping narrative that combines history, biography, and mathematics, George Szpiro details the fascinating lives and big ideas of great minds such as Plato, Pliny the Younger, Ramon Llull, Pierre Simon Laplace, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John von Neumann, and Kenneth Arrow, among many others. Each chapter in this riveting book tells the story of one or more of these visionaries and the problem they sought to overcome, like the Marquis de Condorcet, the eighteenth-century French nobleman who demonstrated that a majority vote in an election might not necessarily result in a clear winner. Szpiro takes readers from ancient Greece and Rome to medieval Europe, from the founding of the American republic and the French Revolution to today's high-stakes elective politics. He explains how mathematical paradoxes and enigmas can crop up in virtually any voting arena, from electing a class president, a pope, or prime minister to the apportionment of seats in Congress.Numbers Ruledescribes the trials and triumphs of the thinkers down through the ages who have dared the odds in pursuit of a just and equitable democracy.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
The Anti-Democrat	p. 1
The Letter Writer	p. 22
The Mystic	p. 33
The Cardinal	p. 50
The Officer	p. 60
The Marquis	p. 73
The Mathematician	p. 89
The Oxford Don	p. 100
The Founding Fathers	p. 119
The Ivy Leaguers	p. 134
The Pessimists	p. 165
The Quotarians	p. 187
The Postmoderns	p. 202
Bibliography	p. 215
Index	p. 219
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.