A PARADOX OF VOTING - CYCLICAL MAJORITIES AND THE CASE OF MUSCLE SHOALS

Although social choice theorists have long recognized the theoretical possibility of cyclical majorities in democratic settings, it has been difficult to find a clear example of cyclical voting in a real-world setting, This is at least partly due to the fact that legislative rule s suppress their appearance. This paper identifies and examines a defi nitive and significant example of cyclical voting. The cycle occurred in a series of votes in the U.S. Senate during one week in January 192 5 on the issue of what the federal government should do with the Muscl e Shoals works, initiated during World War I and still a significant p olitical issue in the 1920s.