Power to the People: Social Choice and the Populist/Progressive Ideal

Power to the People examines the first session of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature, in 1937, to determine whether the Legislature's structure and rules reflected populism, progressivism, or simply a variant of liberal democracy. The book considers the notion that the one-house, nonpartisan legislature adopted by Nebraska's citizens is a reflection of the desire for "the people," rather than the elites, to control government. Building on the work of the new institutionalism and applying the principles of social choice, Power to the People argues that the structure and procedures of an institution affect its product as well as the philosophies on which it is founded.