[ExI] Conscientious objections

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 5:38 PM, Adrian Tymes <atymes at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Not voting externalizes your costs there onto the rest of us
> who generally agree with your political preferences.  It may
> be a very tiny amount, but it is nonzero.  The right thing to
> do, IMO, is to vote in such cases.

### Let me be clear: I think that voting is *not* wrong. Many people I
greatly respect voted, and even a vote for Romney is no reason to
cross you off my friends list. But, I strongly disagree that there
exists an a priori moral duty to participate in elections. Using the
notion of externality here is also inappropriate: If you look at the
usual meaning of this term in economic literature, it applies to costs
or benefits of trade not transmitted through prices, or affecting
persons other than the buyer and seller directly involved in the
trade.

Clearly, I have no voluntary trade with Mr Obama, I have no contract
with you or anybody else to act in support of some political goals.
Per my inclination, I may volunteer to agitate against the Mandarinate
and its political candidates but I will be held to no standard of duty
on this issue.

As I said before, reasonable and good-natured people may differ in
their approaches to bettering the world. I developed a visceral
dislike of the slithering nest of snakes, and I don't want to touch it
(even if there was a minute positive effect overall). But, I applaud
those who wish to improve the system from the inside, even if their
quest may be quixotic.

Rafal