Author Description

What Do We Owe Those In Our Communities? What Do We Owe Strangers? In A Sense, Those Who Vie For Political Office Locally And Nationally Do So, At Least In Part, From Duty And Obligation To Their Fellow Citizens, To Many They Do Not Know And May Never Meet. In A Democratic Society, Those Who Wish To Participate In Politics Have The Unbridled Freedom To Do Exactly That: Whether As Leaders, Or Those Who Campaign For Politicians, Or As People Who Simply Struggle To Have Their Voice Heard In Everything From Town Hall Meetings To Protests. But By The Same Logic, We Also Have The Freedom Not To Participate: The Freedom Not To Care To Be Heard At All.not So, Says Julia Maskivker: Such Logic Collapses When Applied To The Act Of Voting. Not Only Should We Vote If We Can--we Must Vote. Even When Confronted With Two Unappealing Candidates, Or With Ballot Propositions Whose Effects We Will Barely Feel, Or With The Fact That Our Single Vote Might Never Tip An Election, We Must Vote. We Have A Duty Of Conscience To Vote With Care When Doing So Comes At So Small A Cost. Maskivker, A Political Theorist And Philosopher, Argues That Those Fortunate To Live In Democratic Societies With Freely Elected Leaders All Share, Simply, A Moral Obligation To Vote. -- Introduction: Voting And Justice -- Being A Good Samaritan Requires You To Vote -- What Does It Take To Vote With Care? -- Why Is Voting Special? -- Self-standing Arguments Against The Duty To Vote And Why They Fail -- Voting And Collective Rationality: Final Thoughts Julia Maskivker. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 255-265) And Index.