 Arrow’s result clearly extends the scope of analysis beyond the traditional focus of welfare economics, and nicely illuminates the difficulties of democratic voting procedures such as the Condorcet paradox (consisting of the fact that majority rule may be intransitive). The analysis of voting procedures is wide domain. For recent surveys, see e.g. Saari (2001) and Brams and Fishburn (2002), as well as the entry on  Arrow’s Theorem.  This analysis reveals a deep tension between rules based on the majority principle and rules which protect minorities by taking account of preferences in a more extended way (see Pattanaik 2002).