Should Democracy Be Compulsory?

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Hi, my dear navel gazers! Here's our gazillionth installment of impossibly simplistic and hilariously polarized situations, inspired by the [Poll #1879633]

I'm sure you've learned by now why the options are so terribly extreme.

Comments

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

???

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

You're willing to disenfranchise people because they don't have the time/desire to jump through a whole lot of hoops to vote. I heard stories of 6 hour lines to vote in the US. Asking someone to stand in line for six hours is asking more than just a little. If you forced people to vote, then there would be no 6 hour lines, because people couldn't just go "to hell with this, I'm not voting". Your argument is to suggest that someone who can't be bothered to go down to the polling station doesn't deserve a voice, yet then going down to the polling station is made excessively hard. So those who don't vote don't have an opinion, maybe they just don't have six hours to spend standing in a line.

Compulsory voting means this doesn't happen, because any government that made everyone stand in line for six hours isn't going to be in government very long.

Compulsory voting also means that the voices of those with opinions that may or may not be informed (it's one's right to make uninformed decisions) will be heard, as opposed to the alternative which means only those people who are really motivated are willing to spend six hours in line. The result of that is you only end up with really motivated voters, who tend to be more on the fringe of society (after all, if you're in the middle and one side isn't that much different to the other side to you, why would you stand in line for six hours). The result of that is you end up with a polarised government that can't get anything done, like the US has now, or with a million single member or small parties who can't get anything done, like in the UK.

I know it doesn't always play out like this, but the democratic process is far too important to be left to the whim of the voters.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

the democratic process is far too important to be left to the whim of the voters

This last bit sounded a bit disturbing...

Perhaps the problem is just with the phrasing.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

It usually is with me, the important bit is the "whim". I'm trying to say that participating in something as important as democratic governance should not be left up to whether people can be bothered or not.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

You can't mandate what motivations should drive people. Especially when you're advocating giving them an "You're all a bunch of donkeys" voting option.