Rant about voting (in Canada)

[beowabbit]

luckytroll posted this nifty rant about Canadian politics and voting in Canada. Particularly quoteworthy lines:

just for the record, I will not be voting Liberal or Conservative in this election [....]

Ill probably vote either NDP or Green - NDP because I feel that Jack gives a shit, and that he can do a lot to make Canada the kind of country that gives a shit. Green because sustainability is ultimately the only option for us as a species, and the nation that figures it out first, will be the one that everyones descendents will want to live in.

And to all you people out there who are not going to vote - well,come June 29, If you dont vote, then shut up, because you could have made a difference.

(After 2000, I can’t imagine ever voting Green, but Green parties are fairly decentralized, and I doubt the Canadian Green Party bears any responsibility for Quisling’s Nader’s candidacy.

Comments

What about Libertarian?

[ladypantherrr.livejournal.com]

See my most recent LJ post for more details...

Re: What about Libertarian?

[beowabbit]

I suppose I might vote for a capital-L Libertarian over somebody like Bush or George Wallace or Richard Nixon, but I'd be holding my nose. I'm not a Marxist by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm an awful lot closer to a Marxist than I am to a Libertarian.

The crucial flaw in Libertarian thinking, I believe, is that they wish to make government (i.e., in western democracies, the collective, crudely-negotiated will of the people) so weak that individuals are not defended against other centers of power. In essence, a Libertarian utopia would be a brief period of weak government before another de-facto government without the name started oppressing people. In fact, you can already see that happening -- the current régime isn't Libertarian in general, but they share the interest in weakening government.

I don't want to be oppressed by people who call themselves CEO or Chief Corporate Counsel any more than I want to be oppressed by people who call themselves President or Generalissimo.

(I do, however, believe in a lot of small-l libertarian principles.)