*Public Service Announcement* No, you dont have a duty to vote. However, if you do vote, you have a duty to do so in a responsible, reasonably informed way: As political philosopher Jason Brennan argues, voters have a moral duty to be at least reasonably well-informed about the issues they vote on, because the decisions they make affect not just themselves but all of society. John Stuart Mill put it well when he wrote that voting is not just an exercise of personal choice, but rather “the exercise of power over others.” If you can’t exercise that power in at least a minimally responsible manner, maybe you should not do so at all. (volokh/2012/11/06/the-case-for-abstaining-from-voting-on-issues-where-you-are-ignorant/) If youre heading to the polls today because thats what everyone else is doing, or because three-quarters of your Facebook friends have guilt-tripped you into doing so by intimating that failing to vote makes you some kind of unseemly monster, then you probably have a moral obligation to not foist your ignorance on the rest of us. (And remember, contrary to popular wisdom, theres no shame in not voting, because theres a fair chance youre civically engaged in other, more meaningful and impactful ways, such as through volunteering, or educating others. If you dont vote, you still have every right to complain: bleedingheartlibertarians/2014/10/if-you-dont-vote-you-have-no-right-to-complain/) If you vote, be an informed voter!
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 16:02:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015