
We present two new proofs of the Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem, the foundational result in social choice theory establishing that every surjective, strategy-proof social choice function on three or more alternatives is dictatorial. Both proofs share a common engine—the Mutual Exclusion of Influence (a six-line theorem showing that two voters cannot both control the same alternative pair at a shared profile while ranking the pair differently)—but diverge in how they derive dictatorship from this principle. The first proof is purely combinatorial: mutual exclusion combined with a transition sequence identifies a uniquely decisive voter without constructing a classical pivotal voter. The second proof is information-theoretic: under the uniform distribution on preference profiles, strategy-proofness yields an exact identity relating conditional outcome entropy to option-set size. The zero-overlap theorem—a measure-theoretic consequence of mutual exclusion—forces influence entropy to concentrate entirely in a single voter, characterizing dictatorship as the unique entropy profile (log |X|, 0, …, 0) compatible with strategy-proofness and surjectivity. To our knowledge, the second proof is the first to establish the Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem via Shannon-type information-theoretic quantities. The Mutual Exclusion Theorem itself is new and replaces the pivotal-voter construction across all four established proof routes with a single structural principle. Both proofs connect to the Adversarial Aggregation Channel (AAC) framework, in which the influence entropy corresponds to adversarial sub-channel capacity and the mutual exclusion principle instantiates a channel-capacity conservation law.
mutual exclusion of influence, option sets, adversarial aggregation channel, impossibility theorems, Shannon entropy, Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem, influence concentration, social choice theory, information theory
mutual exclusion of influence, option sets, adversarial aggregation channel, impossibility theorems, Shannon entropy, Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem, influence concentration, social choice theory, information theory
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