Douglas Amy Updates 'Real
Choices, New Voices'
September 2002
Real Choices/New Voices: How
Proportional Representation Elections Could Revitalize American
Democracy (Second Edition), by Douglas J. Amy (New York:
Columbia University Press, 2002)
This is the completely revised and updated second
edition of a book that is a must-have for all of those interested in
reforming winner-take-all elections.
The basic theme remains the same: the need to replace
our outmoded and unfair winner-take-all electoral system with a new
system: proportional representation (PR). The books shows how our
current single-member plurality system is responsible for many of
the problems afflicting American elections, including the lack of
competitive races, the under-representation of women and minorities,
the two-party monopoly, wasted votes, spoiler candidates,
gerrymandering, and low voter turnout. It is argued that switching
to proportional representation -- the multi-member district system
used by most other Western democracies -- would solve all of these
problems and produce a more representative and more democratic
political system.
Virtually every chapter has been extensively rewritten
and updated to include new studies and recent developments in
electoral system reform. There is also a new chapter entitled "PR --
A Different and Better Kind of Democracy" that explains how
proportional representation produces more of what we value in
democracies: greater political equality, more power sharing, broader
political debate, increased political bargaining, and policies that
better reflect the public will.
This new edition of Real Choices/New Voices offers a
timely and imaginative way out of the frustrations of our current
voting system by proposing a proven alternative that is more open,
responsive and democratic. As the debate over electoral reform
continues, this book will be a invaluable source of ideas and
information for those interested in revitalizing American
democracy. |