RE: Behind the placards

From: alexboko@umich.edu
Date: Tue Jan 21 2003 - 14:20:42 MST


From: "Alex Future Bokov" <alexboko@umich.edu>
X-Mailer: YaBB

[quote from: Lee on 2003-01-20 at 18:44:32]
I've never understood why people can't simply do as I
do, and cooperatively express their views in the voting
booth? And if they have more energy and time than it
takes for than, then in discussions with others, and in
writing articles and books?

One vote isn't worth the chads it produces. They are on the streets in
order to influence other voters, and it's their constitutional right to do
so. Physical protests may be a waste of energy compared to articles and
books, but not everyone is gifted in the literary realm. Furthermore, filling
the Extropians list with this war debate (am as guilty as anybody) is the
electronic equivalent of a big, rowdy picket-line, isn't it? Too bad we're
picketing the Smithsonian Institution instead of the Capitol!

Anyway, even if by some miracle a grass-roots political movement changes
policy via the ballot box the process is slow and only a stopgap until we can
replace the ballot box with shareholder meetings at a million tiny joint-stock
companies. Democracy is better than the currently available alternatives, but
is still a coercive system.

----
This message was posted by Alex Future Bokov to the Extropians 2003 board on ExI BBS.
<http://www.extropy.org/bbs/index.php?board=67;action=display;threadid=54419>


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