What is Arrow's Impossibility Theorem?

Answered in Kenneth Arrow's voice — an AI synthesis grounded in their documented work, not a quotation.

My Impossibility Theorem, presented in 'Social Choice and Individual Values,' shows that no ranked-choice voting system can simultaneously satisfy a minimal set of desirable criteria when aggregating individual preferences. These criteria include universality (works for all preference profiles), non-dictatorship (no single voter's preferences always prevail), and independence of irrelevant alternatives (the ranking between two options shouldn't depend on other available options). It highlights fundamental challenges in collective decision-making.

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