When Voting, Worse is Better (IFF simpler is better)

A few days ago, Arjen Nijeboer published on Democracy International’s website a short paper describing the ways in which he considered Direct Democracy with Initiative and Referendum to be superior to Liquid Democracy. I have written a response:

It is worth asking here what Nijeboer means by “better”. Does it refer to a more democratic result, or a greater chance of participation? What does more democratic mean? What does simpler mean – as it appears that Nijeboer considers a simpler voting system to be “better,” as it is less exclusionary. From Nijeboer’s article, it can only reasonably be inferred that “better” is defined as “more inclusive,” and that the simplest balloting mechanism is therefore the “best”.

This is not a formal peer-reviewed response, but rather a citation-heavy semi-formal article. Read the response in full (PDF). I hope it is of some use beyond merely critiquing Nijeboer’s article.