• @Telorand@reddthat.com
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    11 year ago

    Imagine this scenario.

    • There’s 100 people who will decide a winner.
    • 60 of them share the majority on the left and have varied beliefs (communism, socialism, liberalism, progressivism, etc.)
    • 40 share the minority on the right and have largely monolithic beliefs (religion, tradition, control, etc.)
    • Candidate C is a Centrist.
    • Candidate F is a Fascist.
    • There are 10 other candidates, Q-Z, with varying platforms across the political spectrum.

    35 of the minority are guaranteed to vote for F. 1 votes for Q. 2 vote for R. 2 vote for S.

    But that means the 60 have an easy 25 point lead. 3 vote for Q. 2 vote for R. 5 vote for T. 6 vote for X. 10 abstain on moral grounds and don’t vote for anyone.

    • Candidate C gets 34 votes.
    • Candidate F gets 35 votes.
    • Candidate Q gets 1 vote.
    • Candidate R gets 4 votes.
    • Candidate S gets 2 votes.
    • Candidate T gets 5 votes.
    • Candidate X gets 6 votes.

    Congratulations, the fascist won, because you thought you had the privilege to vote for your favorite, or maybe you didn’t vote at all. Either way, the fascist took your human rights away, along with everybody else’s. But you go to sleep at night knowing you stood your ground like a good idealogue.

    • @TylerDurdenJunior@lemmy.ml
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      01 year ago

      Imagine this scenario.

      You have a representative democratic system that degrades itself completely decade after decade while the culprits stuff their pockets and make careers out no longer representing the people that voted for them.

      After so many decades of automating and accommodating financial interests, to the point where lobbies and corporate interests basically write the laws the politicians sign, the system is now completely broken and is no longer, in any way shape or form something that represents the interests of the people.

      It is not privilege, but necessity to abstain from voting for actors in that system, unless they want to change it.

      And I haven’t even covered how the system you are voting for are using war, death and terror to further, spread the domination of the same financial interests, and even destabilize and meddle in other democratic processes all over the world.

      If there was a candidate that atleast pretended to want real change, I would absolutely encourage everyone to vote. But there isn’t. Not even the slightest.

      • @Telorand@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        It is not privilege, but necessity to abstain from voting for actors in that system, unless they want to change it.

        You are advocating for being the 10 who abstain. The scenario I presented is how it works now (minus the political chess that is the Electoral College). What does abstention do to prevent the rise of fascism? How would you convince the other 90 to join you en masse? How would you prevent just one person from keeping such a system alive?

        I know you can’t answer these questions, because none of the people who think like you can. This system sucks. I’m with you on that. But there isn’t another option, therefore choosing not to participate doesn’t do anything but give a leg up to the fascists.