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Does this democracy work? Measuring reliability, Trojan horses and the fundamental problem of evaluation

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  • Williams, Richard Beadon

Abstract

Epistemic democrats indirectly evaluate democratic decisions by directly evaluating the inputs into the election. However, the fundamental problem of measurement in the philosophy of science shows that procedures are often as difficult to evaluate as outcomes. This paper brings this highly refined framework into political philosophy to show that epistemic democrats face an analogous ‘fundamental problem of evaluation’. This cross-fertilization of political philosophy with the philosophy of science shows that the quality of democratic mechanisms and their inputs regarding their ability to track the truths of justice is as difficult to evaluate as the quality of the resulting decisions themselves.

Suggested Citation

  • Williams, Richard Beadon, 2026. "Does this democracy work? Measuring reliability, Trojan horses and the fundamental problem of evaluation," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(2), pages 219-243, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:ecnphi:v:42:y:2026:i:2:p:219-243_1
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