Suchergebnisse

Following the psychol'ts & econ'ts, pol'al sci'ts have focused their attention on studies of the decision-making process. Sci'fic methods, analyzing the phenomenon, & making it possible to predict the outcome, have been set forth by diff investigators. The results are far from being satisfactory. In effect, it is only possible to make predictions when a minimum of knowledge, freedom & coherence presides over human decisions. If we pass from the individual to the collective, which is that of pol'al decisions, we see that the decisions of several individuals are not only `concurrent' but 'cooperative', for they tend to arrive at a single decision for the entire group. It is interesting to compare the individual choice of a consumer & the individual choice of a voter (the vote of the majority being the normal group means of arriving at a decision). Certain authors, Black in particular, do not see any diff in principle between them. Others, like Buchanan, see fundamental diff's: the consumer knows the immediate result of his choice, not the voter; the first wishes to satisfy his tastes, the latter to realize his values: above all the latter can be forced to accept a result contrary to his choice. Pol'al decisions, made in uncertainty, are thus exposed to coercion. Tr. by Z. Dana from IPSA.