Democracy is dead — here is an alternative
Why I believe voting should be an acquired right, not a birth-given one.
I voted…
Today I voted in France for the first round of the presidential elections.
Like most years, I voted for the green party, even though the candidate was not particularly appealing.
But, like most elections, I already know that I will vote in the second round, not for someone who inspires me but against the evilest. This is the state of our democracy right now.
After casting my vote, I pondered with a thought that I have every time I drop the envelope in the urn: democracy is dead. Not everyone should be allowed to vote, including me.
I have had many heated (often very heated) arguments and debates when expressing the idea that not everyone should be able to vote. Cretins, idiots, morons, and bigots should not.
Post-Brexit Vote: What is the EU?
Let me give you an example that will make you laugh (or cry)
In 2016, NPR published a paper revealing that AFTER the Brexit vote (UK’s exit from the European Union), the most searched terms on google were: “What is the EU?”
Imagine that. You vote for something you haven’t got a clue about. Then you hear that you have made a big mistake that will have substantial financial, social and geopolitical repercussions that will decrease your life quality and freedom, so you google it. And so it is indeed a fair question to ask:
“Should the people that don’t have a rudimentary understanding of what the EU is be allowed to vote on a life-changing EU topic or not?”
No. They should not. Because it is dangerous.
People tend to not vote on facts but on opinions. Often, these opinions and shaped by the people around them and by the partisan media outlets of their choice. Even if they were to get a fact, that fact would be integrated into their mind’s pre-conceived mental modal. You do not get one thought, idea, or opinion in your mind that is entirely independent of another; that is not how the mind works. You already have a pool of opinions, and when you get a new one, it is effervescent and adds a few bubbles to that pool.
Of course, this has always been the case. But today, with “user-generated media” such as Twitter and the such, there is no limit to the brainwashing, propaganda, and lies that are told as facts every day, primarily by people who have no clue about what they are talking about.
One day, someone buys a bitcoin and overnight becomes a financial expert who will give you advice that bankrupts you. Then, that same person becomes an epidemiologist that rivals the opinion of medical doctors because he has read a 140 character tweet on that matter. Today, with the tragedies in Ukraine, that same person is an expert in post USSR geo-politics.
This is a tragedy. We already know that we have lost touch with reality, but this is getting out of hand very fast. They call it freedom of speech — everyone is allowed to say anything they want. And so they do, and then they vote.
I don’t agree with red lights — they are a waste of time.
Here is another analogy that can help make a point as to why not everyone should be allowed to vote. In our day in age, it would not be a surprise to hear someone say:
“No. I actually disagree. I believe that when the light is red, you should not stop. It’s your right not to because it’s a waste of time. Also, stop signs are for liberals.”
Thankfully, to drive, you must get a license to show that you can drive and read (without interpretation) the road signs. This helps our roads to be safer.
Without a license to drive and road laws, it would be chaos and pretty dangerous. You might think that casting a vote and driving are not comparable. For example, you can’t hit someone with a little piece of paper and kill them like you could with a car. (Although paper cuts can be intense!)
However, that is just a very closed perception of what a vote really is.
When you vote, you help enforce the decision on what the government will do for several years. These decisions are huge and much more dangerous than driving like a maniac.
You will help decide who we go to war with and why.
You will help determine if we continue destroying the planet at this rate, if we destroy it even faster, or if we help slow global warming by imposing minor sacrifices on the people.
You help decide if a poor person gets health care or gets bankrupt if they dare catch a cold.
And so on. Depending on your country and how your government works, that little vote is potentially way more dangerous than having a contradictory opinion on the function of red light.
00000000007 — License to vote
Here is an alternative that I have always thought could work, although I doubt it will ever happen. Just like you must get a license to drive a car or a truck, you should get a license to vote and participate in decisions that can literally blow up the world.
Is that such a crazy idea? Of course, one might say that only the “elite” and the “educated” will be able to vote. No. I am not talking about a super complex and expensive test to study. It must be rudimentary. It checks that you have a basic understanding of what you are voting for. (What is Europe?) It could be 10 multiple-choice questions. You can take a free and optional weekend class or something like this and take the test. It will also be a way to check that you have not been brainwashed into conspiracy theories, which is the case for most people today.
I cannot give you the details of that test in a 1000 words article. It should be thought about by people who know more about what could be required, which is beyond my pay grade. But the concept is pretty simple and would not be that hard to do.
Unfortunately, to have a “right to vote” license, someone would have to vote for it, and I am not sure that people would vote to take an exam. Also, the people in charge often count on our ignorance to be elected. So yes, this idea has many flaws, but they seem minor compared to the ones of our current “democratic” systems.
Side note
Here is another thing I would like to see reform as a side note. If you live in a country where you are not a citizen but pass the small test, pay your taxes, and have lived there for X years, you should be allowed to vote. I know people involved in the country’s political lives who are not allowed to vote because they have another citizenship, while others who have no clue but were born on that piece of rock vote because it is their “birth-given right.”
Conclusion:
It has become politically incorrect to criticize democracy. Democracy is precious and fragile.
We need to protect our democracy as a concept, but we must also be aware of our times. We have radically changed the way we get our information, and we are asked to vote on policies that are so foreign to most of us that it is simply not “democratic” to ask us to do so. Telling the people that each vote matters are a facade, a trick, a lie. The only vote that matters to most politicians is the one that they can get. Lies, deceit, and trickery will not be obstacles to their thirst for power. Everyone should have the right to pass a license to vote. Knowing what you are talking about when giving your opinion is powerful. That is genuinely democratic.
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