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On voting, and other fetishes

By Claude Bohn

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at its root.” – Henry David Thoreau

*****

Voting, along with egalitarianism (which, as Murray Rothbard once pointed out, is a “revolt against nature”), is the sine qua non of democracy. In most, if not all, of the so-called democratic nations, it has been raised to the level of a high holy fetish! So much so, I’m afraid, that, even the overwhelming majority, of the “superfluous” minority, who clearly recognize, and oppose, the inherent evils associated with democracy, remain convinced, nonetheless, that the evils of democracy can, somehow, be overcome through the democratic process!

Curious, to say the least.

I am here, in the role of an iconoclast, to - as H.L. Mencken once said - heave a dead cat into the sanctuary.

            If the lack of participation, in the voting process is the real problem, then, there’s a very simple solution: Make voting mandatory – as it already is, here, and is being suggested, here. That is, make it, not only a “civic duty,” but a legal one, as well. THAT should do it! No? Vote, or be fined; and, if that doesn’t work, imprisoned, perhaps? Now, THAT’S what I call democracy in action!

            But, what of the (very real) possibility, that, even with 100% participation in the voting process, you still continue to be plundered and abused, by the State? After all, mandatory voting didn’t make the Russian people any freer, or the Iraqis, did it?

Are we to seriously believe, that a few thousand, or even a few hundred thousand, additional voters, could somehow rescue us from our current dilemma? Are we to seriously believe, that the basic instinct of man - to live by the “political means,” as opposed to the “economic means” - might be overcome through the voting process? That is, are we to believe, that men (or, at least, 51% of them) might be expected to vote, to obtain their needs and wants, through work, and/or the peaceful, voluntary exchange of the fruits of his own labor, for those of others (the “economic means”), as opposed to simply obtaining those needs and wants, through the “forcible appropriation of the labor of others” (theft) - by gaining a tedious and ephemeral control of the organized apparatus of plunder, the State - through the political process? Such are delusions!

[See: “The State,” by Franz Oppenheimer, pp.14-15; and Albert Jay Nock’s “Our Enemy the State”.]

NEWSFLASH! It IS NOT a matter, of WHO can, or does, and who cannot, or does not vote. Rather, it IS a matter of what those who CAN and DO vote, can vote FOR.

            Over 200 years ago, a British university professor – Lord Alfred Frazier Tyler – said, “A democracy can last only as long and until a majority of the people discover that they can vote themselves largesse out of the public treasury and, then, they will continue to elect the politicians promising the most and the end result will be a fall of that democracy, due to economic ruin and chaos.”

            It would seem to me, that, an inherent minority - of voters (or, potential voters), who wish to live solely by the economic means - can NEVER overcome the clear majority - who, for whatever reason, or combination of reasons, wish to live by the political means - in a “free and fair election”. To believe that they can, seems to me the height of absurdity!

NEWSFLASH! You WILL NEVER, and CAN NEVER escape, the evils of democracy, through the democratic process! Regardless, of whether “good men” vote, or no.

            What the “superfluous” minority (what Mr. Nock referred to as, “the Remnant”) is actually up against - what they have ALWAYS been up against – is, simply, human nature. Which, basically, hasn’t changed one whit in 6,000 years of recorded history; and which, shows no real promise of changing, given an additional 6,000 years!

Given a “choice,” between the economic means, and the political means for obtaining his sustenance, man (or, at least, the overwhelming majority of men – the ONLY thing that counts in a democracy) seems inherently (or, at least, habitually) inclined to “choose” the later over the former. At least, as long as there is an apparatus of plunder (the State) available to him, for that purpose; and being able to (legally) plunder his neighbor, is simply a matter of voting.

Let the howling begin!

“The fact is, that the average man’s love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary, exactly like his love of sense, justice and truth. He is not actually happy when free; he is uncomfortable, a bit alarmed, and intolerably lonely. Liberty is not a thing for the great masses of men. It is the exclusive possession of a small and disreputable minority, like knowledge, courage and honor. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty – and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies.” – H.L. Mencken

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