Please note the following upcoming event as part of the Macquarie University Lunchtime Seminar Series.
***NOTE, THIS SEMINAR IS ON WEDNESDAY RATHER THAN THE USUAL TUESDAY*** "The Liberal Paradox" Dr. Rachael Briggs (Griffith/ANU) Wednesday 18th March, 1-2pm W3A Rm 501 (Blackshield Room) Liberal societies must reconcile two conflicting requirements: ensuring that each individual has a protected sphere of choice, and satisfying majority preferences. Amartya Sen's Liberal Paradox in an attempt to translate this problem into the language of voting rules that govern group compromise between individual preferences. The Pareto Principle requires that unanimous preferences be preserved by any group compromise, while the Liberal Principle requires that each individual have some pair of options, such that her preference in those options is reflected in the group compromise, come what may. Sen shows that in some situations, these two principles cannot be jointly satisfied. Critics of Sen have complained that his example of a paradoxical situation is unrealistic, and his formal principles do not map very naturally onto the motivations, informally described. I develop a more realistic example, and reframe the Liberal Paradox in terms using the 'reasons' which better capture the underlying motivations. I argue that in my framework both the Pareto Principle and the Liberal Principle are motivated by the same underlying thought--that if an opinion is held unanimously by everyone for whom it is a legitimate object of concern, then the group consensus should reflect the unanimous opinion. The conflict between the LiberalPrinciple and the Pareto Principle comes from a disagreement about the extent of each individual's domain of concern. Feel free to bring your lunch. Bring a coffee mug if you would like a tea or coffee. Contact: Rachael Brown ([email protected]), Paul Formosa ( [email protected]), Mike Olson ([email protected]) A google calendar with details of other events in this series is available for viewing and subscription by following this link: http://tinyurl.com/k85h2dl _______________________________________________ Other upcoming talks in this series: March 24th: Richard Menary (Macquarie) March 31st: Katrina Hutchison (Macquarie)
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