Abstract
This study discusses how representational democracy is related to the issues of community wellbeing in that political promises are contested in process of election campaigns. Under the premises that many promises largely reflect issue of community wellbeing, we seek to enhance understanding of how styles of representative democracy impact community wellbeing by comparing aspects of single-member (SMD) and multimember districts (MMD) in the Japan case.Among the questions considered: (1) Do voters’ choices increase in SMD compared to MMD systems? (2) Does issue voting increase in SMD? (3) Do SMD systems expand policy debate? and, (4) Does the voters’ will determine the policies of elected representatives? We measure each of these variables, related to mechanisms for electing representatives, with an assumption that wellbeing is closely related to voters’ participation and satisfaction. Based on our analysis, we conclude that SMD is not better than MMD at promoting these aspects of community wellbeing.
Highlights
Today, there is a strong need of conducting a new line of research whose focus is lied on the correlation between the specific types of political practices and the general level of people’s satisfaction they feel about their community
It is in our interest to see if the following electoral practices in Japan have encouraged the first three issues while reducing the last one, because the intensity of each factor is closely related to the prosperity of “For the People Democracy” which is linked to the political wellbeing of people, and to their general wellbeing as well
If problems associated with the multimember districts (MMD) system have disappeared or are less prevalent in Lower House elections under the SMD system, this would prove the logic of arguments made when the parallel electoral system was introduced that “the fault lies with the electoral system.”
Summary
Because “wellbeing” is a subjective concept, we need to explain how the above features of representative democracy differently impact it. When voters’ choices increase, they pay more attention to issues and the policy debate expands, so that voters are more likely to participate in a Habermasian public discourse that encourages their individual engagement and enhances the prospects for compromise on major policy issues This engaged electorate is more informed, accepting of electoral and policy outcomes, and respectful of other views, and less apathetic, biased, and adversarial. (Sandel, 2008) Voters are more likely to engage in a Rawlsian exercise of political rights, including free speech and assembly, better securing the foundations of liberal democracy(See, 2002) These properties of political wellbeing are more likely to be achieved in situations of (1) principal-centered rather than agent-centered, (2) elected representatives as delegators rather than as trustees, and (3) electoral systems that enhance voters’ communication. It is in our interest to see if the following electoral practices in Japan have encouraged the first three issues while reducing the last one, because the intensity of each factor is closely related to the prosperity of “For the People Democracy” which is linked to the political wellbeing of people, and to their general wellbeing as well
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