The Ethics of Voting / Jason Brennan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brennan, Jason, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Voting--Moral and ethical aspects.

Voting.

Applied ethics.

Ethics.

Voting ethics.

Local Subjects:

Applied ethics.

Ethics.

Voting ethics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (229 p.)

Edition:

With a New afterword by the author

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2012]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Nothing is more integral to democracy than voting. Most people believe that every citizen has the civic duty or moral obligation to vote, that any sincere vote is morally acceptable, and that buying, selling, or trading votes is inherently wrong. In this provocative book, Jason Brennan challenges our fundamental assumptions about voting, revealing why it is not a duty for most citizens--in fact, he argues, many people owe it to the rest of us not to vote. Bad choices at the polls can result in unjust laws, needless wars, and calamitous economic policies. Brennan shows why voters have duties to make informed decisions in the voting booth, to base their decisions on sound evidence for what will create the best possible policies, and to promote the common good rather than their own self-interest. They must vote well--or not vote at all. Brennan explains why voting is not necessarily the best way for citizens to exercise their civic duty, and why some citizens need to stay away from the polls to protect the democratic process from their uninformed, irrational, or immoral votes. In a democracy, every citizen has the right to vote. This book reveals why sometimes it's best if they don't. In a new afterword, "How to Vote Well," Brennan provides a practical guidebook for making well-informed, well-reasoned choices at the polls.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Voting as an Ethical Issue

Chapter One. Arguments for a Duty to Vote

Chapter Two. Civic Virtue without Politics

Chapter Three. Wrongful Voting

Chapter Four. Deference and Abstention

Chapter Five. For the Common Good

Chapter Six. Buying and Selling Votes

Chapter Seven. How Well Do Voters Behave?

Afterword to the Paperback Edition. How to Vote Well

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9786613456946

9781283456944

128345694X

9781400842094

1400842093

OCLC:

781625165