ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights an important area being overlooked both by economists and political scientists—political decision making. It describes an artificial intelligence-based simulation that is being developed, and deals with a discussion about language and theory. Decision-makers in the LDCs are constantly faced with critical economic and political choices. Decision-makers are well aware that a rapid rate of economic growth may secure their political future. Thus, there is considerable motivation to accelerate growth as rapidly as possible. Political survival, therefore, means that decision-makers must cultivate political support groups that they can satisfy. It becomes important to these groups to keep the government in power, even if this may mean political suppression. Important areas of cross-fertilization have occurred in the fields of decision making, problem solving, learning, and representation. What is novel about the system is not its method of representation, but its accessibility.
