Description
Book SynopsisChallenges our assumptions about voting, revealing why it is not a duty for most citizens. This title 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.
Trade Review"[Brennan's] relentless focus on the problem of 'wrongful voting' pays off... [His] argument lodges a serious objection to research in political science and behavioral economics suggesting that even lazy voters can use shortcuts to vote well."--Josh Rothman, Boston Globe "The real value of books such as this lies in their potential to raise the level of public debate... Brennan's argument is detailed and searching, which means that it presents a challenge to anyone prepared to take it seriously."--Alan Haworth, Philosopher's Magazine "Brennan advances the extraordinarily provocative argument that the sine qua non of civic virtue is not political participation (especially not voting) but the moral duty to promote the common good... Students will appreciate Brennan's highly instructive exercise in argumentation. He constructs cogent justifications for his conceptual framework, outlines reasons for rejecting contrary views, and meets plausible objections to his own formulation."--Choice "The Ethics of Voting ... offers a set of provocative and tightly-argued claims. It also changes the way scholars across the social sciences and humanities might want to ask questions about voting... Jason Brennan has written a short, accessible, and tight book that deserves a place on scholars bookshelves."--Art Carden, Public Choice
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Voting as an Ethical Issue 1 Chapter One: Arguments for a Duty to Vote 15 Chapter Two: Civic Virtue without Politics 43 Chapter Three: Wrongful Voting 68 Chapter Four: Deference and Abstention 95 Chapter Five: For the Common Good 112 Chapter Six: Buying and Selling Votes 135 Chapter Seven: How Well Do Voters Behave? 161 Afterword to the Paperback Edition: How to Vote Well 179 Notes 185 References 205 Index 213
