Augustin
A simple question
Let's start with a simple question:
Do you like bad apples?
This question is a little strange. Of course you don't like bad apples! Nobody likes bad apples! Good apples are good for your health. But who wants to eat rotten1 apples?
Most people do not like politics2. People think that politics is a basket full of bad apples. When they vote3, they vote for the least4 rotten politician5.
Yes, many people are disappointed6 in politics and politicians. However, politics is very important. Good policies7 and bad policies affect8 us every day. It is important to have good politicians. Good politicians can help us make our country better. Good politicians have good policies. Good policies can help everybody.
Sadly, many people think:
I cannot find any good politician. The good politicians are never elected!9 There is nothing we can do about it! 沒辦法！
Don't say: 「沒辦法」!
There are many solutions10! If we want to find the right solution, we must understand better the problem.
In every country, there are many good people. There are also many good politicians. The question is: Why don't good politicians ever get elected? People would like to vote for them.
I am going to tell you a secret11. Very few people know this secret:
There are many election method12. Today, we are using the wrong election method. If we can use a better election method, we can elect better politicians!
Plurality Voting
Yes! There are many ways to vote. Imagine you have 5 candidates 13. Maybe you think you can only vote for one candidate like this:
‧[ ] Candidate A
‧[v] Candidate B
‧[ ] Candidate C
‧[ ] Candidate D
‧[ ] Candidate E
This is the election method that we use today in Taiwan and in most countries. It is not a good election method. In fact, it is a very bad election method. With this election method, the voters14 have little choice. Often, there are only two candidates, or two candidates and many small ones. The two main15candidates often fight each other. People often do not like politicians who fight. However, with this election method, politicians must criticize their opponent 16 if they want to get elected.
You can see an example of an election in Taiwan with Plurality Voting.
http://minguo.info/taiwan/node/20
You see! With Plurality Voting, the voter cannot say exactly who they like and who they do not like.
Approval Voting
A better election method is when you can vote for more than one candidate. You can vote for one, two, three or more candidates. Maybe you like candidates A, B and E, so you can vote this way:
‧[v] Candidate A
‧[v] Candidate B
‧[ ] Candidate C
‧[ ] Candidate D
‧[v] Candidate E
This election method is much better. The voters have more choices. They can vote for the big candidate they like best. They can also vote for all the small candidates they like even better17. There is more competition18 between the candidate. If a candidate criticizes too much his opponents, voters will not like him. Voters will vote for other candidates because they have more choice.
You can see an example of an election in Taiwan with Approval Voting.
http://minguo.info/taiwan/node/21
See the difference! You have more choices!
Cardinal Rating voting and Emocracy
Another good election method is when you can give a score to each candidate. If a candidate is good, you can give him a high score. If a candidate is bad, you give is a low score, like this:
‧[60] Candidate A
‧[80] Candidate B
‧[0] Candidate C
‧[10] Candidate D
‧[90] Candidate E
Another way, is to write for each candidate: "I like" or "I don't like" or "Indifferent"19. This is called: "Emocracy"20. It is a little like Cardinal Rating voting.
‧[Indifferent] Candidate A
‧[I like] Candidate B
‧[I don't like] Candidate C
‧[I don't like] Candidate D
‧[I like] Candidate E
You can see an example of an election in Taiwan with Emocracy:
http://minguo.info/taiwan/node/8
This election method is very good: you can say which candidate you like and which candidate you don't like. If you don't know a candidate, you simply say: "I don't know".
Condorcet voting
With Condorcet Voting, you can rank21 the candidates in order of preference, like this:
‧[1st choice] Candidate E
‧[2nd choice] Candidate B
‧[3rd choice] Candidate A
‧[4th choice] Candidate D
‧[5th choice] Candidate C
But this election method is difficult to count, so I don't think it is very good.
Conclusion
You see: there are many election methods. The election method we use now is very bad. We should use a better election method in Taiwan and in every country. If we can use a better election method, we will have better and better politicians. We will not have politicians who fight with each other. We will have politicians who work together to create the best policies for our country.
Go to http://minguo.info/taiwan/ and register. You can create many elections and vote. Tell your friends to go and vote. You will see the results!
If you like these better election methods, go to http://menwai.tw/ and to http://minguo.info/taiwan/ . You can talk in English or in Chinese about these ideas.
If you don't like bad apples, you can help to teach other people about better election methods. With Approval Voting or Emocracy, more and more politicians will be good apples, working with other politicians for the people.
1. rotten adj. 腐爛的。
2. Politics n. 政治。
3. Vote: v.投票。Vote for him! 投票給他！
4. least: adv. 最不。
5. Politician n. 政治人物，政客。The least rotten politician: 最不爛的政客。
6. disappointed: adj. 失望。
7. Policies: n. 政策。
8. Affect: v. 影響。
9. Elect: v. 選上。 Elected: p.p. 當選。
10. Solution: n. 解決方案，辦法。Each problem has a solution. 每一個問題有自己的辦法。 Note:
‧Problem -> Solution (問題 或 麻煩 -> 辦法)
‧Question -> Answer (問題 或 疑問-> 回答)
11. Secret n.: 秘密。
12. Election method n.: 投票方式。
13. Candidate n. 候選人。
14. Voter n.: 投票人。
15 main adj. 主要的。
16. criticize their opponent: 批評他們的對手。
17. like even better: 更喜歡。
18. Competition n.: 競爭。
19. Indifferent adj.: 沒意見。
20. Emocracy n. = Emotion (情緒) + Democracy (民主)。
21. Rank v.: 排列。
