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“a democratic system in which everyone is "required" to participate in the political process is desirable state of affairs” Citizens of a democratic nation hav
by hhas01 7y ago
“a democratic system in which everyone is "required" to participate in the political process is desirable state of affairs”
Citizens of a democratic nation have one job to do.
If they’re not doing it, the question must be Why?
- remarkEon 7y ago>Citizens of a democratic nation have one job to do. This seems circular, and makes it sound like citizens exist to serve the government rather than the other way around.
- krapp 7y agoOptimally it should be a mutually beneficial relationship.
- artfulhippo 7y agoThe idea that a government could benefit sounds weird to me. I think of benefiting as requiring a subjective personal experience. When you fix your car, does your car benefit? When you remodel your house, does your house benefit? In my mind, government functions, and ideally it functions in service of the people.
- craftinator 7y agoBecause expecting everyone to vote without incentive is stupid. Voting is NOT a job, by definition. You aren't paid for it. The common argument here is that the incentive to vote is to "take control of your future", or some similar marketing schlock. There must be a reason so many people feel that voting does not give them control of their future! I submit that the electoral process has become so flawed and gamed, that the average person has NO control.
- codegladiator 7y ago> Citizens of a democratic nation have one job to do. And they are doing their job. Voting was never a job.
- defertoreptar 7y agoApathy, or they find more value in spending their attention and time doing something else, a feeling like their vote won't change a thing, or straight up laziness. I don't actually think it's important why someone doesn't vote, so long as their right to vote isn't impeded. I have a theory that society, like many other systems, tends to take on more stable forms over time. Part of the reason democracy has been so stable is that it allows people, who would otherwise be unhappy and want to change things, a chance to have a say. Non-voters are already a "stable" part of society, since they apparently don't have strong enough feelings to go vote for something different. I don't see a problem with that.
- aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA 7y agoI expect that a substantial number of nonvoters suffer from learned helplessness.