Classical social choice theory relies heavily on the assumption that all individuals have fixed preference orderings. This highly original book presents a new theory of social preferences that explicitly accounts for important social phenomena such as coordination, compromise, negotiation and altruism. Drawing on cybernetics and network theory, it extends classical social choice theory by constructing a framework that allows for dynamic preferences that are modulated by the situation-dependent social influence that they exert on each other. In this way the book shows how members of a social network may modulate their preferences to account for social context. This important expansion of social choice theory will be of interest to readers in a wide variety of disciplines, including economists and political scientists concerned with choice theory as well as computer scientists and engineers working on network theory.
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motw/Theory of Social Choice on Netw - Wynn C. Stirling.pdf

Preference, Aggregation, and Coordination

Stirling, Wynn C.

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

Cambridge (GB), cop. 2016

Illustrated, PS, 2016

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Cover 1
Half-title 3
Title page 5
Copyright information 6
Dedication 7
Table of contents 9
List of Figures 12
List of Tables 14
Preface and Acknowledgments 17
Introduction 21
Chapter Synopses 23
1 Preference 27
1.1 Categorical Preferences 31
1.2 Reactive vis-à-vis Responsive Models 36
1.3 Influence Networks 43
1.3.1 Conditional Preferences 43
1.3.2 Social Models 50
1.4 Related Research 55
1.5 Summary 57
2 Aggregation 58
2.1 Classical Aggregation 59
2.2 Coordinated Aggregation 63
2.3 Social Coherence 65
2.3.1 Democratic Social Choice 66
2.3.2 An Order Isomorphism 70
2.3.3 Operational Democracy 71
2.4 Epistemology vis-à-vis Praxeology 77
2.5 Coherent Aggregation 83
2.5.1 Bayesian Networks 84
2.5.2 The Aggregation Theorem 85
2.6 Solution Concepts 88
2.7 Reframing 95
2.8 Summary 97
3 Deliberation 100
3.1 Dynamic Influence Models 101
3.2 Closed-Loop Collaboration 108
3.3 Non-Simple Cycles 115
3.3.1 Graphs with Sub-Cycles 115
3.3.2 Embedded Cycles 117
Root Cycles 118
Non-Root Cycles 118
3.4 Summary 121
4 Coordination 122
4.1 Coordination Concepts 122
4.2 A Mathematical Characterization of Coordination 124
4.2.1 Entropy 128
4.2.2 Mutual Information 132
4.3 Coordinatability for Networks 134
4.4 Summary 139
5 Randomization 141
5.1 Social Choice with Stochastic Agents 142
5.2 Social Choice with Randomized Preferences 148
5.2.1 Expected Utility 149
5.2.2 Expected Utility on Networks 150
5.3 Summary 157
6 Satisficing 159
6.1 Solution Concepts 159
6.2 A Change in Perspective 163
6.2.1 Error Avoidance 164
6.2.2 Failure Avoidance 168
6.3 The Neo-Satisficing Model 171
6.3.1 Single-Agent Satisficing 171
6.3.2 Multiple Selves 174
6.3.3 Satisficing Social Choice 177
6.4 Satisficing Coordinatability 182
6.5 Summary 183
Appendix A Dutch Book Theorem 184
Appendix B Bayesian Networks 189
Serial Connections 189
Diverging Connections 191
Converging Connections 191
d-Separation 193
Appendix C Probability Concepts 195
Probability Space 195
Random Variables 197
Transition Probabilities 198
Appendix D Markov Convergence Theorem 200
Positive Matrices 200
Markov Chains 202
Appendix E Entropy and Mutual Information 204
Entropy 204
Mutual Information 206
Dispersion 208
Bibliography 212
List of Authors 222
Index 225

Drawing on cybernetics and network theory, this highly original book presents an alternative to classical social choice theory by constructing a framework that allows for dynamic preferences that are modulated by the situation-dependent social influence that they exert on each other.

Wynn C. Stirling. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

2025-10-27