predicted vs. actual satisfaction

denis bider yahoo at denisbider.com
Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:49:19 +0200

> > D: Is it acceptable for experts to choose a solution which is NOT a
> > solution which would yield the highest level of satisfaction among 
> > people; in this case, method C?
>
> -M: Who says that the people's choice would produce the greatest 
> level of satisfaction? This is only what the people would PREDICT 
> would produce the greatest level of satisfaction.

I am aware of that distinction.

In the above context, I meant immediate satisfaction with the choice being
made. Eventual effectiveness of that choice was not part of the above
question. Rather, it was part of another one later on.

To re-clarify the above question:
- if we agree that Condorcet is a method that relatively objectively
reflects the choice that the crowd (not the "mob", but the people
collectively, polled individually) want to make;
- then, putting completely aside whether that choice is wrong or correct;
- is it philosophically correct for anyone to block that choice and force
another one, for whatever reason?

I'm not quite convinced that the mobs in the French revolution had a
nationwide vote over whether they should ransack and loot before they
actually did so.

I tend to think that, if asked to make their decision in a poll, ransacking
and looting is not quite what they would choose to do.

Should the people; when polled correctly and their individual opinions
aggregated objectively; be treated as adults, or kids? Adults, as in people
with freedom of choice, even when it is wrong; or kids, as in little beings
requiring parental protection? Furthermore, who's sure that the parents are
right, and when does the kid qualify to become an adult?