Cross-discipline of
economics and
political science which tries to formalize mathematically both
positive and
normative features of social decision-making. The modern Social Choice movement is largely descended from
Arrow's Impossibility Theorem put forth by
Kenneth J. Arrow in his book
Social Choice and Individual Values (1951), although much the same thing was going on in the
18th and
19th centuries. Early practitioners included
Condorcet, as well as
Lewis Carroll.
Social Choice is concerned with such issues as:
Social Choice should not be confused with
Public Choice, a
completely different cross-discipline of economics and political science.
Besides Arrow, the most prominent current practitioner of Social Choice is Amartya Sen, who tries to get around the common difficulties with things like quasi-orderings, and considerations of freedom and capabilities in addition to utility.