How the majority does not rule and other news and views for Wednesday 7 May
- Yawning to cool the brain – “Common belief is that yawning helps to increase the oxygen supply. However, previous research has failed to show an association between yawning and blood oxygen levels. New research by a team of researchers led by Psychologist Andrew Gallup of SUNY College at Oneonta, USA now reveals that yawning cools the brain.”
- How Milton Friedman Fomented the Barmy “Corporations Exist to Maximize Shareholder Value” Myth
- Here’s How Pop Stars Make Money Now That People Don’t Buy Music
- Why Doesn’t the Big New Government Report Tell Us How Much Climate Change Will Hurt the Economy? – “… a significant percentage of Republicans still deny the reality of climate change, despite evidence that it’s threatening their health and that of the planet. If researchers can convince them that it’s hurting their wallets, too, then maybe these holdouts will finally come around, providing the political capital necessary for sweeping changes.”
- Is Citizenship a Right? – “Should your government be able to take away your citizenship?
- The Majority Does Not Rule In US Democracy – “… we found that even overwhelmingly large pro-change majorities of up to 80 percent in the population managed to effect policy changes in only about 43 percent of the cases. Narrow pro-change majorities of the public got the policy changes they wanted even only in about 30 percent of the cases. The data shows that average citizens and mass-based interest groups actually have little or no independent influence on policies. This is troubling news for advocates of “populistic” democracy, who want governments to respond primarily or exclusively to the policy preferences of their citizens. In the United States, our findings indicate that the majority does not rule – at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes.”
- Ban cigarette filters to save the environment, suggest researchers
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