Pizza Democracy

David BoazSome people actually like pineapple on pizza. Others sensibly do not. B àcaro Pizzeria chain in Montreal decided tolet its customers vote. Now me, I would think customers vote every day in what they order. But inspired by a vision of democracy, chef and co ‐​founder Angelo Mercuri wanted to put the question to an actual vote. And he vowed that if the people rejected the Hawaii 50 pizza, it would be removed from the menu.In the event, 53 percent voted no. “Democracy rules, and pineapple will never again show up on our menu,” Mercuri said. Of course, that means the 47 percent who like pineapple pizza (or just didn’t want to ban it) won’t be able to get the pizza they want. Mercuri has applied the dysfunction of political decision‐​making to the normal individualist functioning of the marketplace. I wrote about a similar example fromSesame Street in my bookThe Libertarian Mind:In an election special, the Muppets and their human friends have three dollars to spend, and they learn about voting by deciding whether to buy crayons or juice.Rosita: You count the people who want crayons. Then you count the people who want juice. If more people want juice, it ’s juice for everyone. If more people want crayons, it’s crayons.Telly: Sounds crazy but it might just work!But why not let each child buy whatshe wants? Who needs democracy for such decisions? Theremay be some public goods, but surely juice and crayons don ’t count.Imagine ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs