I’ve met women who honestly and persistently profess that women should not be allowed to vote. In at least one case, even in private, to a person they really want to like them and who very clearly disagrees with them.
That doesn’t surprise me… I’ve had the same experience once or twice, in mixed company, and with strong feminists in the room. The subsequent conversations along the lines of “But women chained themselves to railings, and threw themselves under horses to get the vote; how can you betray them like that?” were quite amusing. Especially when followed by the retort “Well I’ve got a right to my own opinion just as much as anyone else—surely you respect that as a feminist!”
I’ve also met quite a few people who think that no-one should vote. (“If it did any good, it would have been abolished years ago” a position I have a lot more sympathy for these days than I ever used to).
My preferred society (in a Rawlsian setting) might not actually have much voting at all, except on key constitutional issues. State and national political offices (parliaments, presidents etc) would be filled at random (in an analogue to jury service) and for a limited time period. After the victims had passed a few laws and a budget, they would be allowed to go home again. No-one would give a damn about gaffes, going off message, or the odd sex scandal, because it would happen all the time, and have very limited impact. I think there would also need to be mandatory citizen service on boring committees, local government roles, planning permission and drainage enquiries etc to stop professional civil servants, lobbyists or wonks ruling the roost: the necessary tedium would be considered part of everyone’s civic duty. This—in my opinion—is probably the biggest problem with politics. Much of it is so dull, or soul-destroying, that no-one with any sense wants to do it, so it is left to those without any sense.
I’ve met women who honestly and persistently profess that women should not be allowed to vote. In at least one case, even in private, to a person they really want to like them and who very clearly disagrees with them.
That doesn’t surprise me… I’ve had the same experience once or twice, in mixed company, and with strong feminists in the room. The subsequent conversations along the lines of “But women chained themselves to railings, and threw themselves under horses to get the vote; how can you betray them like that?” were quite amusing. Especially when followed by the retort “Well I’ve got a right to my own opinion just as much as anyone else—surely you respect that as a feminist!”
I’ve also met quite a few people who think that no-one should vote. (“If it did any good, it would have been abolished years ago” a position I have a lot more sympathy for these days than I ever used to).
My preferred society (in a Rawlsian setting) might not actually have much voting at all, except on key constitutional issues. State and national political offices (parliaments, presidents etc) would be filled at random (in an analogue to jury service) and for a limited time period. After the victims had passed a few laws and a budget, they would be allowed to go home again. No-one would give a damn about gaffes, going off message, or the odd sex scandal, because it would happen all the time, and have very limited impact. I think there would also need to be mandatory citizen service on boring committees, local government roles, planning permission and drainage enquiries etc to stop professional civil servants, lobbyists or wonks ruling the roost: the necessary tedium would be considered part of everyone’s civic duty. This—in my opinion—is probably the biggest problem with politics. Much of it is so dull, or soul-destroying, that no-one with any sense wants to do it, so it is left to those without any sense.