ABSTRACT
Social choice theory is concerned with the mathematical aggregation of individual preferences into a social preference. Though axioms are specified which constrain the aggregation, no reference is made to the mechanism by which social choice actually takes place. In all but the smallest groups social choice takes place via the delegation of power from many to few. Mechanisms evolve which attempt to ensure that the people to whom power is delegated act in the interests of the people who delegate the power. A fundamental problem with the delegation of power from many to few is that no individual has a large enough incentive to devote resources to ensure that the representatives are acting in the interest of the represented. Since the representatives serve the public good, the social benefit to monitoring their activities is far larger than the private benefit to any individual. That is, the public good is a public good and each person attempts to be a free rider in its production.
