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RE: The Great Voting Debate: To Vote Or Not to Vote with Jeff Berwick and Mark Skousen at Freedomfest

in #freedomfest6 years ago (edited)

I vote, and I do my best to communicate with others about the value of voting, but there is a cynical part of me which strongly identifies with the Emma Goldman, quote:
"if voting changed anything they'd make it illegal"

If you read her wiki, you see some striking, scary thoughts about voting:
"Goldman believed that voting was useless at best and dangerous at worst. Voting, she wrote, provided an illusion of participation while masking the true structures of decision-making."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman#The_state_%E2%80%93_militarism,_prison,_voting,_speech

Again, I vote, but it does seem true that between: gerrymandering, redlining, corporate donors, mass media focused news coverage, super pacs, superdelegates, and other unsavoury tactics the "democratic" process available to much of the "free" world, is at minimum, impaired.

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"Goldman believed that voting was useless at best and dangerous at worst. Voting, she wrote, provided an illusion of participation while masking the true structures of decision-making."

Sick quote. I agree with it. The election process is basically like a charade, as I see it, and best just not to give life to it.

I don't think there's anything technically wrong with voting (or running for office) tho, as some anarchists/voluntaryists will claim. It doesn't violate the non-aggression principle. I see it as just pointless and maybe a waste of energy.