4 ms·

It all comes down to the age-old question of "who watches the watchmen?" We can never be sure that the tools a corporation is providing are truly "agnostic" bec

It all comes down to the age-old question of "who watches the watchmen?" We can never be sure that the tools a corporation is providing are truly "agnostic" because corporations exist for only one reason: to maximize profits. We can't expect them to look out for "voters' values" because voters are not their shareholders. Even vote.org, which is an nonprofit, raises questions of impartiality. Where do they get the phone numbers of unregistered voters and how do we know they won't attempt to sway them toward a particular candidate or political party (look into social architecture)? There is no way to know without 100% transparency and I personally don't trust this organization as far as I can throw it. Collusion between corporations and politics is an anathema to democracy. Your vote doesn't mean shit unless you have the capital to back it up. Take a look at WikiLeaks or the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Our political voices are falling on deaf ears because most of our representatives are bought and paid for. I would rather not go down this road when it comes to the core mechanisms of our electoral system (but I'm sure that's already well underway).

deleted 10y ago
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erikpukinskis 10y ago
How would you propose information about the candidates be disseminated without corporate involvement? Would you prefer Google remove links to political information, and newspapers refrain from reporting on political events, because those things are collusion between corporations and politics just as much as the tool which is the topic of discussion. For that matter, better prohibit phone calls between voters about their government, because the then the telco is aiding in political collusion too.
- supernintendo 10y ago
  My original statement pertains specifically to the election system by which I mean voting machines, voter registration, the drawing of electoral districts and so on. That's all purely logistical. If you think CNN or Google is biased, you're free to choose a competitor. If your elected officials are taking money from lobbyists who don't serve your interests, you can demand change or vote them out of office. If the mechanics of the electoral process has been manipulated by special interest groups, how certain can you be that your vote will even count? Corporatism has had many negative effects on western democracy but I'd rather not add rubber stamp elections to the list.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

erikpukinskis 10y ago

How would you propose information about the candidates be disseminated without corporate involvement? Would you prefer Google remove links to political information, and newspapers refrain from reporting on political events, because those things are collusion between corporations and politics just as much as the tool which is the topic of discussion. For that matter, better prohibit phone calls between voters about their government, because the then the telco is aiding in political collusion too.

supernintendo 10y ago
My original statement pertains specifically to the election system by which I mean voting machines, voter registration, the drawing of electoral districts and so on. That's all purely logistical. If you think CNN or Google is biased, you're free to choose a competitor. If your elected officials are taking money from lobbyists who don't serve your interests, you can demand change or vote them out of office. If the mechanics of the electoral process has been manipulated by special interest groups, how certain can you be that your vote will even count? Corporatism has had many negative effects on western democracy but I'd rather not add rubber stamp elections to the list.