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1.35 MB
Extraction Summary
5
People
2
Organizations
0
Locations
1
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Email chain
File Size:
1.35 MB
Summary
An email exchange between Larry Summers and Eric Maskin dated September 11, 2018. They discuss a meeting held earlier that day regarding a project involving Adam Friedman. The conversation focuses on political theory, specifically the merits of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) versus plurality rule, and its potential impact on political polarization and election outcomes (citing Nader/Bush scenarios). The document appears to be part of a House Oversight production.
People (5)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Eric Maskin | Correspondent |
Discussing voting theory and a project involving Adam Friedman; responding to Larry Summers.
|
| Larry Summers (LHS) | Correspondent |
Inquiring about the seriousness of the project and discussion polarization effects of voting systems.
|
| Adam Friedman | Subject |
Mentioned for his 'commitment to the project' and described as Eric Maskin's friend.
|
| Ralph Nader | Example |
Used as a hypothetical example regarding voting outcomes.
|
| George Bush | Example |
Used as a hypothetical example regarding voting outcomes.
|
Organizations (2)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| www.larrysummers.com |
Website listed at the top of the document.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Indicated by the Bates stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026510'.
|
Timeline (1 events)
September 11, 2018
Relationships (2)
Exchange regarding economic/political theory and a recent meeting.
LHS refers to Friedman as 'your friends determination' when writing to Maskin.
Key Quotes (4)
"I agree with you that Adam Friedman’s commitment to the project is impressive."Source
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Quote #1
"Voting rules may seem nerdy and dry, but they can make an enormous difference to actual politics"Source
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Quote #2
"RCV is in between majority rule and plurality rule, and so will promote centrism better than plurality rule."Source
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Quote #3
"Seems like on one hand it might encourage Ralph Nader cuz he d get more first round votes and not elect George bush. This might be bad."Source
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Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (1,802 characters)
www.larrysummers.com
On Sep 11, 2018, at 6:05 PM, Maskin, Eric <[REDACTED]> wrote:
Hi Larry,
Thank you very much for taking the meeting this morning. I’m glad you found it worthwhile, and I agree with you that Adam Friedman’s commitment to the project is impressive.
I AM serious about working on this---it’s a nice opportunity to make important practical use of some interesting theory. Voting rules may seem nerdy and dry, but they can make an enormous difference to actual politics
The formal argument that RCV promotes centrism better than the current system (plurality rule) is straightforward. Suppose that most voters vote ideologically in the sense that the closer a candidate is to their own position on the left-right spectrum, the more like they are to vote for him. Then under majority rule (my favorite voting system)---in which voters rank candidates and the winner is the candidate who beats all other in pairwise comparisons----the winner will be the median voter’s favorite candidate -----in other words, the most centrist candidate gets elected (this assumes that there are enough candidates running so that there is one who is reasonably close to the median voter). Now observe that RCV is in between majority rule and plurality rule, and so will promote centrism better than plurality rule.
Best wishes, Eric
From: LHS <[REDACTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2018 4:16 PM
To: Maskin, Eric [REDACTED]
Cc: lhsoffice [REDACTED]
Subject: This morning
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2018 4:16 PM
To: Maskin, Eric [REDACTED]
Cc: lhsoffice [REDACTED]
Subject: This morning
It was fun and interesting.
I admire your friends determination.
Are you serious about working on this?
Has anyone done a full analysis of this and polarization.
Seems like on one hand it might encourage Ralph Nader cuz he d get more first round votes and not elect George bush. This might be bad.
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026510
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