Diversity and Democracy: Agent-Based Modeling in Political Philosophy

Authored by Aaron Bramson, Patrick Grim, Bennett Holman, William J Berger, Daniel J Singer

Date Published: 2018

DOI: 10.12759/hsr.43.2018.1.259-284

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

``Diversitat and Demokratie: Agent-Based Modelling in der politischen Philosophieg{''}. Agent-based models have played a prominent role in recent debates about the merits of democracy. In particular, the formal model of Lu Hong and Scott Page and the associated ``diversity trumps ability{''} result has typically been seen to support the epistemic virtues of democracy over epistocracy (i.e., governance by experts). In this paper we first identify the modeling choices embodied in the original formal model and then critique the application of the Hong-Page results to philosophical debates on the relative merits of democracy. In particular we argue that the ``best-performing agents{''} in the Hong-Page model should not be interpreted as experts. We next explore a closely related model in which best-performing agents are more plausibly seen as experts and show that the diversity trumps ability result fails to hold. However, with changes in other parameters (such as the deliberation dynamic) the diversity trumps ability result is restored. The sensitivity of this result to parameter choices illustrates the complexity of the link between formal modeling and more general philosophical claims; we use this debate as a platform for a more general discussion of when and how agent-based models can contribute to philosophical discussions.

Tags

Agent-based models democracy Problem solving representation deliberation Epistemic democracy Epistocracy Expertise Cognitive diversity Wise crowds