Friday 21 June 2013

The voting system is not important

The method by which the members of a political body are elected doesn't matter too much. We might think that there are obvious and stark differences in how a country is governed depending on whether it uses fptp or pr. But in reality there isn't much difference. The only difference the voting system makes is in determining whom gets to state the law. What is more important is the truth of the law itself. If we agree on what the law should be then we can have little valid complaint over whom it is set by. It doesn't matter who sets the law what matters is the nature of the law itself... in which case the voting system used is not important. Only the laws are important. It doesn't matter which form of democracy is used and it doesn't matter if there is a quasi two-party system in place... provided the laws are fair. Voting doesn't alter the truth and so if the government is wrong and it is open to argument then eventually the truth will emerge. First past the post is not good but it is not objectively wrong.

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