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If you live in the same country as I do, I definitely think you shouldn't vote. That way, my vote counts more. Huh? If everyone's vote carries the same weigh

If you live in the same country as I do, I definitely think you shouldn't vote. That way, my vote counts more. Huh? If everyone's vote carries the same weight, then in a large pool, everyone's vote is equally meaningless. So, logically, if my vote is almost certainly not going to cast the deciding ballot, then I should stay home. And so should everyone else. If everyone stays home, then all it takes for my candidate to win is for me to go to the polls. All of a sudden, my vote is the most meaningful vote in the entire election! "Everyone's vote counts equally" only applies to those who actually, y'know, vote. Or, try this argument: The premise of voting is not that it matters whose vote tips the scales. The premise of voting is that the candidate who gets the most people to vote for him or her wins. So you only need to vote if you actually care who wins. And if you do care who wins, you don't actually care about the relative contribution of any individual vote, including your own.

lifeformed 11y ago
All of this is true; however, at the end of the day, it still seems bothersome that me voting and me not voting has the exact same outcome. It won't affect anything. Even if I care who wins. Some people say, "well, if everyone who thought like you voted instead, they could make a difference." Okay, fine, you're right, I'll vote instead then. I do, and it's still logically equivalent to not voting. I mean, obviously we should all vote, but it just always seemed weird to me that society relies on everyone performing an individually inconsequential action.
- mtVessel 11y ago
  That's because the worth of votes are in aggregate, not individually. Individually infinitesimal is not the same thing as individually inconsequential. "No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." -Stanislaw Jerzy

lifeformed 11y ago

All of this is true; however, at the end of the day, it still seems bothersome that me voting and me not voting has the exact same outcome. It won't affect anything. Even if I care who wins. Some people say, "well, if everyone who thought like you voted instead, they could make a difference." Okay, fine, you're right, I'll vote instead then. I do, and it's still logically equivalent to not voting. I mean, obviously we should all vote, but it just always seemed weird to me that society relies on everyone performing an individually inconsequential action.

mtVessel 11y ago
That's because the worth of votes are in aggregate, not individually. Individually infinitesimal is not the same thing as individually inconsequential. "No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." -Stanislaw Jerzy