Strategic voting as a system of control
HMS York as a prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour with the convicts going on board. Plate from Shipping and Craft by E. W. Cooke, 1829 (detail). E. W. Cooke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Reddit thread explores how strategic voting imprisons independent voters inside a two-party system monopoly, and ends up empowering that system.
Commenter: 17flowers
I have an idea for explaining why strategic voting is a bad idea, and I want to know what you folks think of it.
It’s all about long-term thinking. When you vote for the party you want (for example, the NDP), the Liberals and Conservatives will change their policies to cater to you and try to win your vote back.
So sure, the Conservatives might win this election, but you’ll have helped push the Overton window left, so next election you can vote for parties with policies you actually support, not just to avoid the other guy.
This happened in 2019, when the Green Party won 6.6% of the vote, and three seats. As a result, the three mainstream parties incorporated Green Party policies into their own policies. That even prompted the Conservative Party to agree that climate change is real and manmade.
Do you think this argument is correct? Do you think it’s clear enough? Does it have any objections I should prepare to respond to.
Commenter: Democracy Lover
Strategic voting (or the conditions that lead to it) are a method of control in a democratic system.
If two parties confine you to the lesser of two evils, that gives the lesser evil cart blanch to do whatever. Make as many promises as they need and then break them once in power. If they are always the natural choice against the greater evil, they don't need to be progress. They're a default option anyway.
It's a mutually beneficial arrangement for the evil party you're trying to vote against and the one you reluctantly support. Neither have to be honest or even likable, as long as some people hate the other party more, you can be whatever you like.
I get that SV happens, and some people need to do it to avoid horrible politicians getting power. But ultimately, it's a trap that sucks you into supporting a party that doesn't really represent you.
Read the whole thing here.
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