What Does Voting Mean for Accountability in a Democracy?

[Mk]

What does voting mean to you? I think we all live in countries that are quite full-blooded democracies, if not what does it mean to you if you could?

 

[Smasherman]

That thing I get to do for the first time at the 2006 election (fun birthday I have, huh?).

 

[Smurf]

That thing that I first get to do sometime next month.

That thing that I probably won't do because it's clearly unethical and inherently violent.

That thing that is responsible for more domestic violence in (almost) all western democracies since their conception.

 

[Smurf]

Well since no one else is posting, I'll speak for one of my class mates. I asked him if voting was unethical and he said "Of course not. Something that doesn't do anything can't be unethical".

So there you go. An opposing viewpoint on whether voting is moral or not.

 

[Pengwuino]

What does voting mean to you? I think we all live in countries that are quite full-blooded democracies, if not what does it mean to you if you could?

A guaranteed job (elections worker)

 

[loseyourname]

What elections workers are you talking about? The people who work the voting locations are volunteers.

 

[Mk]

C'mon guys, I expected better, more serious responses from the learned people at physicsforums.

 

[Pengwuino]

What elections workers are you talking about? The people who work the voting locations are volunteers.

haha you wish they were volunteers! Or maybe California's population is ungrateful...

 

[loseyourname]

haha you wish they were volunteers! Or maybe California's population is ungrateful...

What do you mean I wish? I've worked the voting booths in two elections and everyone there was a volunteer. Is that only the case in Los Angeles County?

 

[Pengwuino]

What do you mean I wish? I've worked the voting booths in two elections and everyone there was a volunteer. Is that only the case in Los Angeles County?

I just like saying you wish :P But yah, here in Fresno County, there all paid. No wonder its so expensive to run an election

 

[Mk]

It is too expensive we should cancel them all and select one leader to rule for 35 years at a time.

 

[Smasherman]

It is too expensive we should cancel them all and select one leader to rule for 35 years at a time.

How very Hobbes-ian of you.

 

[Burnsys]

i think in almost every democratic country, voting means legitimizing a 2 party dictatorship each 4 years.

 

[Smurf]

C'mon guys, I expected better, more serious responses from the learned people at physicsforums.

Mine was serious. Majority voting is the new dictatorship. it's clearly unethical and invasion on personal freedom. THAT'S serious. That's what it means to me, too.


On a second thought, I think this is as serious as you can get Mk. Most learned people realize that voting is a sham that *doesn't* actually mean a whole lot. So if you want deep personal responses you should go ask that in some uneducated patriotism forum.

 

[Smurf]

What do you mean I wish? I've worked the voting booths in two elections and everyone there was a volunteer. Is that only the case in Los Angeles County?

Yes. I got paid last time I worked for the elections. Everyone I know got paid when they work for the elections.

What kind of a sick county do you live in where people don't even need monetary incentive to participate in the violation of individual freedoms? They actually volunteer for that? Power-hungry bastards.

 

[loseyourname]

What kind of a sick county do you live in where people don't even need monetary incentive to participate in the violation of individual freedoms? They actually volunteer for that? Power-hungry bastards.

Yeah, those three 70 year-old Jewish ladies that I helped give out stickers and check to make sure voters were registered for that polling location and that the box stayed locked and secured. Power-hungry bastards, all of us.

 

[Art]

Well since no one else is posting, I'll speak for one of my class mates. I asked him if voting was unethical and he said "Of course not. Something that doesn't do anything can't be unethical".

So there you go. An opposing viewpoint on whether voting is moral or not.

Smurf governments and voting are not as simplistic as you seem to think.

I may be mistaken in my interpretation of what you are saying seeing as how you didn't actually say too much but it appears to me based on the essay you posted previously that you consider society to be comprised of polar opposites. So when one side wins they will implement policies that are anathema to the other side.

In practice most people fit in the middle of the political landscape and so given that parties would like to get reelected again in the future their political agendae in the main reflect this. The majority of legislation passed by one side or another will be at most mildly irritating to supporters of the other side.

Another aspect of government which you have not recognised is the committee stage of all bills. In these all parties debate and offer amendments which will again tend to bring extreme policies back towards the centre.

Where the executive branch try to force through legislation without consensus they often find members of their own party turn against them and defeat the bill. As happened recently to Tony Blair.

So far from democracies resulting in oppression and violence due to dictatorial edicts as you suggest, they actually lead to consensus government or a long time in the political wilderness for parties who abuse their power such as happened to the conservative party in Britain.

 

[BobG]

It means people have a chance to hold their leaders accountable.

Considering most people aren't all that well informed about a government that manages to minimize its involvement in their personal lives, it can be a rough process where the ability to raise enough money to get your message across has more importance than it should. In the long term, it does force government policies towards a middle ground that most of the nation can agree with, even if it allows some short term swings one way or the other.