Identity, interpersonal trust, and the political self-concept

What is it about?

Democracy is not just an abstract feature of political systems, but an idea which binds us and asserts that we are all valued members of the community. Democracy requires trust, for without trust there is little reason to vote or participate in the political process. Democracy requires accurate measurement, too, yet our current system wholly or partially disenfranchises most of us. There are remedies for this which do not require constitutional change, and which would reduce the likelihood of continued controversy in the years to come.

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Why is it important?

We derive our sense of who we are from our life histories, from our friends and families, from our work and perhaps our faith, and also from our membership in communities, including our countries. In the United States, as elsewhere, an injury to our country is an injury to us, to our self-concepts. Legislative gerrymandering and the selection of the US president without regard for the popular vote violate the ideal of equal rights. In this essay, I argue (as others have) for the National Popular Vote compact (NPV) as a remedy for the flaws of the Electoral College.

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