Everything2
Near Matches
Ignore Exact
Full Text
Everything2

How one man could control the Senate

created by Shanoyu

(idea) by Kalkin (2 wk) (print)   ?   1 C! I like it! Sat Jun 29 2002 at 17:40:54

How a Political Clique can control a vote

There is also another way in which one man (well strictly it is two people) could control the Senate - by the judicious use of political cliques, defined as a subgroups of deputies. If a political clique is formed such that it contains more than 50% of the deputies in the Senate and each member of this clique agrees that:

  • The clique will conduct a secret vote on each issue among its members
  • Each member vote as a block, bound by the vote of the clique when the issue comes up in the Senate

    It is thus clear that the remaining deputies who are not members of the clique will have no say when the issue comes up in the Senate as the issue will be predecided.


    Sub-Cliques

    Although a clique can control a vote in this way it is clear that the clique can itself be controlled by sub-cliques. Any sub-clique whose members account for more than 50% of its parent clique can control the parent clique and hence the vote in the Senate, at long as its members abide by the same rules.


    Recursion

    It can thus be seen that any clique can be recursively broken down into progressively smaller cliques which can control the overall vote. Eventually a point is reached where a clique of two people controls the entire Senate. It is obvious that this clique cannot be broken down into smaller cliques which could control it. It is at this point that the vote of one man controls the Senate.

    Imagine that in this smallest clique of two people they take it turns to write down their vote on a piece of paper and place it face down on a table. The second person to vote now controls the Senate as if he votes the same way as his companion then the inexorable chain of cliques will result in the Senate following his lead.


  • printable version
    chaos

    Kill Your Students Day God slipped away quietly, during third period physics class Vote clique
    Girlfriend in a Coma Senate Whatever floats your boat Generic Song Lyrics
    I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor How to assassinate a third world despot with only a butt plug and a litre of raspberry coulis Issue people
    Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter Inexorable member political
    Subgroup chain man Oliver Cromwell
    Partisan recursion Block coma
    Y'know, if you log in, you can write something here, or contact authors directly on the site. Create a New User if you don't already have an account.
      Epicenter
    Login
    Password

    password reminder
    register

    Everything2 Help

    Cool Staff Picks
    What you are reading:
    Heirlooms
    I once had a cavity
    Words of advice for young noders
    Incubus
    sourdough
    Charles Mingus
    Mauritius
    R.E.M. ordering breakfast at Denny's at 3 AM
    Battle of Stamford Bridge
    Gerontion
    What I learned from the skateboarders outside my window
    Yard of Ale
    Sei Shonagon
    New Writeups
    jjen
    Sorrier than I ever thought I would be(personal)
    locke baron
    Moskva class antisubmarine cruiser(thing)
    Wuukiee
    May 15, 2008(idea)
    locke baron
    Kuznetsov class aircraft carrier(thing)
    _lesra
    for abby(thing)
    Adaptive Child
    Annie's garden salsa(recipe)
    Simulacron3
    Zig-Zag(thing)
    Ouzo
    Special Grilled Cheese(fiction)
    Noung
    Tiananmen Square Massacre(idea)
    aneurin
    Lord St Clair(person)
    artman2003
    Assholes and Douchebags: A Comparison(person)
    locke baron
    Tyan Thunder K8WE(thing)
    locke baron
    Udaloy class destroyer(thing)
    Scaevola
    Same-sex marriage(idea)
    SteveMurrayFromNZ
    British Standard Handful(idea)
    E2 is a by-product of the existence of The Everything Development Company