As useful lifespans increase, and as humans remain semi-rational for longer, it seems LESS important, not more, to ensure that the young can take the reigns as soon as possible.
It’s clear that any voting cutoff is arbitrary, in reality there’s a large variation in maturity, scope of thinking (including time and number of others affected), correctness of predictions, etc. There are 12-year-olds I’d rather give a vote to than many 30-year-olds. But if we have to pick an age, it should be the SAME as other adult responsibilities (ability to enter into contract, to be treated as an adult for criminal prosecution, military service, taxation, etc.). Alternately, you can vote when you file taxes and nobody claims you as a dependent. _Starship Troopers_ takes it a bit far, but there’s a reasonable idea behind the hyperbole—adulthood and responsibility isn’t based solely on age.
Disclosure: I remember being a youngling and wishing these old folk would give me the credit/authority/respect I deserve, but I am now one of the olds that previous-me resented. I may well be biased in my preference to take the longer view, and for the young to mature a few more years before making any major decisions.
Maybe not all other adult responsibilities—I can see a good argument for bringing on responsibilities slowly, with voting toward the end. But it’s really difficult to disallow voting on topics that affect earlier-granted responsibilities (cf US voting age reduction in response to military draft). Simultaneity solves that.
To the extent that voting matters, it should be done in a considered fashion by people who are able to apply long-term thinking. At the very least, by people who know they’re responsible for long-term outcomes, and know what that means. The best way to tell people that they’re making adult decisions and this is one, is to grant it similarly to other adult rights/responsibilities.
(aside: I’m somewhat amenable to the argument that voting exists only to pacify the electorate, so it should be granted to anyone who might otherwise revolt, and it’s a fine training ground for children’s future learning of responsibility. But that’s not my default position—I generally think that voting is an exercise of authority, not a practice for more important things).
As useful lifespans increase, and as humans remain semi-rational for longer, it seems LESS important, not more, to ensure that the young can take the reigns as soon as possible.
It’s clear that any voting cutoff is arbitrary, in reality there’s a large variation in maturity, scope of thinking (including time and number of others affected), correctness of predictions, etc. There are 12-year-olds I’d rather give a vote to than many 30-year-olds. But if we have to pick an age, it should be the SAME as other adult responsibilities (ability to enter into contract, to be treated as an adult for criminal prosecution, military service, taxation, etc.). Alternately, you can vote when you file taxes and nobody claims you as a dependent. _Starship Troopers_ takes it a bit far, but there’s a reasonable idea behind the hyperbole—adulthood and responsibility isn’t based solely on age.
Disclosure: I remember being a youngling and wishing these old folk would give me the credit/authority/respect I deserve, but I am now one of the olds that previous-me resented. I may well be biased in my preference to take the longer view, and for the young to mature a few more years before making any major decisions.
Why that?
Here in Israel not even all voting is on the same age limit—elections for government are from 18, and municipal elections are from 17.
Maybe not all other adult responsibilities—I can see a good argument for bringing on responsibilities slowly, with voting toward the end. But it’s really difficult to disallow voting on topics that affect earlier-granted responsibilities (cf US voting age reduction in response to military draft). Simultaneity solves that.
To the extent that voting matters, it should be done in a considered fashion by people who are able to apply long-term thinking. At the very least, by people who know they’re responsible for long-term outcomes, and know what that means. The best way to tell people that they’re making adult decisions and this is one, is to grant it similarly to other adult rights/responsibilities.
(aside: I’m somewhat amenable to the argument that voting exists only to pacify the electorate, so it should be granted to anyone who might otherwise revolt, and it’s a fine training ground for children’s future learning of responsibility. But that’s not my default position—I generally think that voting is an exercise of authority, not a practice for more important things).