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0 sats \ 9 replies \ @mister_monster 16 Feb \ on: Should convicted felons be allowed to vote after serving their time in prison? AskSN
The unnamed premise here is that voting is a universal right. I could go into why this concept is a bad idea, but suffice to say, it isn't. Lots of things are, natural rights and such, voting is not one of them.
Should a person have a vote after serving time for a crime? That's entirely up to the organization in which he would vote. He should, of course, be free to leave that organization if he so chooses, as should everyone.
You would prefer to have no government by the sound of it?
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That's not what I said at all. And no, I would not prefer to have no government.
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Fair point but in saying that how is someone who has served time supposed to leave the 'organisation' that withholds their voting rights if that 'organisation' is the government?
Do you mean people who have served prison time should have to move to another country if they want to vote?
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Again, we are framing it as a right. It is not. Political "rights" are hard won and not given freely or easily. If you live in a polity where people vote on the rules or how it's run, those people decide things like that. So, if those people think you should vote, they'll vote for that.
I'd like to live in a world where there are no victimless crimes and where association with a state is voluntary to a large degree, that way, if you wrong someone somewhere and are punished, it's nor because you're involuntarily subject to rules of the state, but because you wronged members of that state. We aren't there yet. But the same rules on voting apply either way.
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If the majority do withhold the right to vote from anyone they are restricting their level of democracy and excluding people who have already served their time.
Of course they can do this and a majority commenting here today seem to think they should- but this only demonstrates how far we are from a level of enlightenment where individuals are ready and capable of achieving any significant level of self sovereignty...they still lack the empathy for others that is required for true self sovereignty.
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Attempting to achieve self sovereignty by getting permission from others is a fools errand.
I do not equate democracy with enlightenment.
I'm curious, why is empathy required for self sovereignty? How does that work? And bear in mind, empathy and sympathy aren't the same thing, empathy is understanding why people feel the way they feel even if you don't agree with it, sympathy is agreeing with it.