Today is election day. Many people will be heading to the polls to select the next tyrant to rule over their lives. Even liberty-oriented people feel that “participating in democracy” is a good strategy for reducing the size of government. They believe that if we can just get the right people in government, then everything will be all right.
This view is all wrong. Voting is not an effective strategy for liberty. To the contrary, the cause of liberty can be even better promoted by not voting. There are three strong reasons that warrant staying home on election day: First, the probability of your vote actually affecting the outcome is negligible. Second, renouncing democracy and its hallowed trappings is a big step toward developing a fully anarchist mindset. Third, and most important, not voting sends a stronger message than voting pro-liberty, or lesser-of-two-evils: low voter turnout delegitimizes the entire statist system. Finally, if we all become non-voters, what strategy should we pursue? The answer is secession – exercising our right to free association. Keep reading...
