261 sats \ 7 replies \ @kepford 31 Jul 2023 \ on: What would happen if we all just stopped voting entirely? meta
Interesting thought experiment. I don't think it will happen this way though. More likely is that the voting numbers continue to decline but we never get even close to zero. What is happening is more and more people realizing their vote doesn't matter but they still do it. Basically disenfranchisement. If you think my vote and your vote are twice the value of Bill Gate's vote you are fooling yourself. I don't vote because I don't believe in the system. It started with realizing my vote didn't matter or make a difference. I look at it like this. As a parent that wants to give my kids a choice I offer them two or more choice but all of which are ones I am ok with. This is basically the US form of democracy. It is rare that anyone gets into office that isn't approved by the elites (for good or ill). I would argue that Trump is the exception and they did their best to contain him. I think they did a pretty good job of doing so.
Our biggest issue in the west is the illusion of choice, not the decline of democracy. We think we are more free than we are. We are trained to focus on things outside of our control and ignore things within our control. Invest in yourself. Vote or don't. I don't care, but I do want to see more people focus on solutions in their own lives, families, and local communities/neighborhoods.
Gotta mention Democracy: The God That Failed. Does a great job of actually pushing back on the near insane lack of criticism of the system we are all supposed to believe in. I say believe in because it seems like the secular religion to me. Even if you are a big supporter of democracy this is a good book to read if you wanna understand where people are coming from in their opposing views.
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I'll check out the book, thanks for the rec. I've appreciated your perspective in the past even though we seem to disagree on fundamental things.
Including on this topic. It boggles my mind, honestly, that people have the attitude you express. There are so many things that very tangibly matter based on who wins elections, and who wins elections is a function of who gets voted for.
You say your vote doesn't matter as much as Bill Gates's. That's wrong, obviously. What is true, and probably what you mean, is that your opinion doesn't matter as much as Gates's; and there's nothing on Earth that will ever make that not true. A bitcoin standard will not budge that truth in the slightest bit. The rich and powerful have always shaken the world, since the dawn of man, and always will. My guess is that that is what people are reacting to, but they're reacting in the wrong place. You could plausibly change who is rich and powerful, and then you'll get to deal with their shit. My guess is that you won't like it much better, unless it happens to be you.
The other thing I think people are reacting to is just properties of systems. They look at the current system and shake their fists at it. But really, systems are their own animals. If you're waiting for a system that will have no unpalatable consequences you'll be waiting forever.
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thanks for sharing this
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I think I've seen this book mentioned 'round these parts. Maybe by you :-). I'll add it to my list.
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Well worth your time IMO.
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One other caveat I should add. I am not opposed to voting. I would guess most people that don't vote or are opposed to voting in elections are not either. I don't support our system and how it works. If I were on a board for a company or had a small group of community members that worked together I would vote or use some sort of voting system. Voting isn't the issue. The issue is the systems under which people are voting. When you get down to it, are "your representatives" actually working for you? Of course not. If people could opt out of the system, taxes, rules, etc and adopt different ones that would represent choice and voting could be a part of that. Voluntarism.
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Local politics should be more important than national politics. I don't think it mattered all that much who the president was in 1890. As the returns on violence grew over the past century, so did the reach of the federal government.
I do think voting is important but I try to vote in a way that would theoretically decrease that importance. I'm much more concerned with which powers we delegate to the government than with who runs it. You're right about Bill Gates being more powerful than you and me combined, but that's not due to any genius on his part as much as him benefiting more from government distortion of free markets.
I don't view democracy as a primary value. For me it's a derivative of my God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A king would be much more efficient at preserving my rights, but democracy is the best risk-adjusted method since a king could easily violate my rights.
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