Australian Dumbocracy

So Australia are going to the polls today. I have no idea what's going on over there, or what will happen. Hopefully I might be able to get something of an overview as the day progresses. However, one thing I do know is that Australians are forced to vote, as they have compulsory voting.

Now this just seems wrong to me. Firstly, I'm not too comfortable with the idea of forcing people to do anything. Surely people should have a right to choose what they do and don't do. We normally call this freedom.

Secondly it seems like a great way of getting a terrible outcome. If someone has no interest or passion for politics, and you force them to vote. Surely they'll be voting for superficial reasons, rather than due to a genuine belief or a considered opinion. Also, it stands to reason that these people will be the most easily swayed by advertising and "slick" campaigning.

It's like if you're voting to decide who the top Premier League footballer is. Do you want a poll of a thousand people who genuinely watch football, or a poll of two thousand people, half of whom have never seen a game?

That extra thousand will have to vote based on purely superficial reasons. They'll be voting for the best looking player, or the player with the coolest sounding name. Or perhaps a player they've seen in an advert or on a TV show.

Maybe even just completely randomly. It would totally skew the good judgement of the thousand genuine football fans.

Also, I think I read somewhere that the fine for not voting is the equivalent to about £11. Now to most wealthier Australians this isn't really that much money. So perhaps it encourages (or forces) poorer, less educated people to vote more so than wealthier ones. It's like Greek democracy in reverse 😅

Poorer people tend to vote more towards the left as well. Can I use the term cultural Marxism ..or is that banned now these days? xD

Finally, in the UK, there are lots of people, many I know in real life, who have zero interest in politics. They barely know who Theresa May is. I despair a little when talking to people like this, and try to encourage them to get involved. However, at the end of the day, who am I to tell these people what to do? Perhaps they have the right idea after all. Maybe they're happier staying well away from the whole charade and focusing on their own life.