An Epistemic Theory of Democracy

This book examines the Condorcet Jury Theorem and how its assumptions can be applicable to the real world. It will use the theorem to assess various familiar political practices and alternative institutional arrangements, revealing how best to take advantage of the truth-tracking potential of majoritarian democracy.

The book develops a comprehensive epistemic theory of democracy, arguing that democratic procedures are valuable not only because they respect political equality or express collective autonomy, but because they tend to produce good decisions. Drawing on social choice theory, probability theory, and computer simulations, we show how democratic institutions can aggregate individual knowledge and produce collectively intelligent outcomes.