Why Voting is Important

(and potentially modelled using economics)

I wrote the following in response to some interesting tweets by an economist I follow on Twitter, namely @ben_golub. Below are my tweets, italicised and in paragraph form.

If a person truly values freedom to take their own individual actions, then they must put a value on the broader context in which they live. This is because certain types of social contexts offer greater freedom of action, while constraining more extreme actions by all.

A society which constrains rapacious behaviour by the rulers and the ruled, and where new information can be shared relatively freely without fear of oppression, and where you can toss out rulers who wish to oppress people and refuse to admit fault is a pretty good society.

So seeking to maintain such a society if one is born into it, or has moved to it (by immigrating), is a sensible way of maintaining freedom of action, and keeping costs lower to maintain one's safety and that of your family.

This is also why there is continued seeking of freedom by the oppressed over the years, and why it is good that that freedom has been recognized and codified in law. In these types of contexts, with a multigenerational view on a household (of which we are all a part of).

Thus, participating in the maintenance of such a society, by voting, becoming educated on the issues, and participating in the overall political process to a certain level is a sensible expenditure of time and effort by individuals (as is moving to such a society).

Also, given that we see people expending more or less effort in political activities relates in part to education in civics, and how you see your role in society. For those who act/value a well-functioning democracy more, you would expect them to have a low discount rate.

I am drawing on some of my readings and thoughts of such authors as Hobbes (the Leviathan), JJ Rousseau (the Social Contract), J.S. Mills (On Liberty), and (auto)biographies such as Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom), and from learning economics and about multi-generational models in economics from when I was in university.