So if there is a law that forces you to vote...is that Democracy?

Started by WrathfulDwarf3 pages

So if there is law that forces you to vote...is that Democracy?

Or is it Fascism?

Your take

(this is a Philosophical/Political question not a fallacy question)

Well it would be a democracy as long as you can vote for several party's. I just wouldn't call it a free democracy. Seeing as you can't choose not to vote, which should be a required thing especially in a democracy. It limits freedom and pushes you into doing something that shouldn't in any way be required therefor it's wrong.

However on the plus side of a law like that. It would mean that the people always decide and not just the people that went to vote. It would also stop these second and third voting rounds bullshit crap things that take place when less then 50% of a country goes to vote, happens sometimes in Eastern Europe. Waste of time and money if you ask me.

Still personally heavily against this, although there are more pro's then cons.

There really would be no point to a voting law because people that dont vote generally know very little about who they are voting for anyways -other that the obvious whose party they are on -and if thats the case they shouldnt vote anyways.

It is like that in Brazil, we are forced to vote. I think it is a bad thing, if only people who wanted to vote had to vote, we would have less corruption I think.

People here just reelected one of the worst presidents in history. Perhaps if most of the people who have elected him didn´t need to vote then he wouldn´t have been elected.

Democracy is the right to choose who you are going to elect if anyone, were I live in order to be a citizen you do not have to vote. So I believe it is not democracy that forces people to vote. Due to the fact that democracy is the choice to vote or not.

P.S It may not mean the same thing where you live.

Mandatory voting could still be a democracy, just a theocratic one. If anything, a democracy is the ability to choose one's dictator lol!

I can see both good and bad in that. More people should vote, it aggarvates me to know so many don't out of sheer apathy and no ambition to fight for what's right.

Then again, do I really want retarded people like them to vote to begin with?

This is why democrats want to drill it into our heads that voting's so important, because they know the guys that don't vote lean liberal.

No

I don't like wearing seat belts either. That was once elective.

Forcing people to participate in the basic tenet of democracy is sort of mocking the democratic process, in my opinion. You don't want to force people to make a decision if they haven't thought about it. In America, only the people who care enough to go out of their way on a Tuesday vote. And that's a good thing. You want people to make a conscious decision, not just doing it because they have to.

So, to answer your question, forcing people to vote is not Fascism. It's just not very smart.

Forcing one to vote is an arrogant and ignorant decision. Only those who keep with the matters at hand and volunteer to vote should actually proceed in doing so.

Sure it's democracy. Why wouldn't it be? We make people pay taxes, drive under certain speeds, wear clothes in public, and do any number of other things; what's different about making people vote that causes it to be "fascist?"

Originally posted by Gregory
Sure it's democracy. Why wouldn't it be? We make people pay taxes, drive under certain speeds, wear clothes in public, and do any number of other things; what's different about making people vote that causes it to be "fascist?"

I suppose it is democracy -but it would be a useless law in today's world because many would not take the time to make an educated vote, and it would defeat the purpose of voting at all. Thats the reason it isnt a law and simply a "responsibility".

as long as they dont tell us who to vote for then it is still a democracy

It is a perverted democracy, and my no stretch of the imagination what it was supposed to be.

Forcing someone to vote seems like something ''fascist''desguised as democracy - kind of ''lets get the ''democrasy'' bit out of the way then we'll do how we please.''

Not REALLY democratic is it...

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
It is a perverted democracy, and my no stretch of the imagination what it was supposed to be.

Forcing someone to vote seems like something ''fascist''desguised as democracy - kind of ''lets get the ''democrasy'' bit out of the way then we'll do how we please.''

Not REALLY democratic is it...

Is only being able to vote for two parties just as bad? too many times its damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Requiring a vote could change the ignorance in the voters. If one is required to vote one may be inclined to learn a bit more about the candidates, making the democratic process that much better.

I heard that in Iran that, while it's not required that you vote, there are incentives to do so, such as colleges take it into account when considering your admission, and it reflects positively if you have done so

something like that...

um...

"democracy" in no way means individual freedom of any kind. It is simply a government in which the people choose the officials to represent them. Being forced to choose is in no way hypocritical of democracy, as long as you are free to choose whichever individual you wish to represent you. If you wish to choose no other individual to represent you, you are still free to write in your own name to represent yourself.

I was thinking...if a government did force the citizens to vote. Wouldn't a "vote of no confidence" automatically collapses the system? The citizen is require to vote. But not require to choose a certain party.

Does this fly for anyone?

Voting is compulsory over here. More than 90 % of the population participates. In 2003, there were
6 551 512 valid votes and 383 093 blank or invalid ballot papers.