Kenneth Arrow, a founding father of modern economic theory, passed away this week. It asserts that no voting procedure can be satisfactory, and that election outcomes can be irrational even when all voters are rational. Arrow sets forth three desirable properties for voting procedures: (1) efficiency, (2) consistency, and (3) no-dictatorship. He then proves that no voting procedure will allow all three to coexist. Yet the most important implication of the theorem is in explaining the difference between individuals and societies or nations.

Source: Forbes February 24, 2017 17:34 UTC