Socio-economic inequalities in political engagement is an incredibly important issue that needs to be addressed, considering the evidence you have provided for differences in turnout between the different social grades. Your focus on how this affects our position as a ‘democratic’ nation is very well presented and it is great that you provided potential solutions for the problem. I definitely agree that more can be done in terms of educating members of society about how important their right to vote is, and how it could benefit them to exercise it. I will make the point, however, that compulsory participation in schools for activities that encourage political participation and expanding one’s knowledge as part of the curriculum is a more achievable goal than making voting itself compulsory. You have argued your case for compulsory voting well, but we arent just talking about people who ‘value their individualism and freedom of choice’ lightly. An individual’s right to vote is exactly that, a right – just like their right to an attorney, their right to a fair trial, or their right to privacy. Voting is essentially a civil right which governments should not be able to infringe, otherwise it could be a slippery slope towards their involvement in other rights as previously metioned. What kind of detrimental effects could that potentially have for our nation as a whole?
There are also other potential issues/questions to consider such as:
1. What if some people just simply dont feel that ANY of the candidates represent their interest, but then still have to vote for one of them? Does that not undermine the purpose of democracy anyway? If someone felt strongly that their interests are not represented or will not be addressed by the potential government presented to them, then voting would just be a waste of time for them anyway, and they would essentially be voting for a government that they dont even want. The people who are apathetic and disillusioned will slip through the cracks so that our ability and motivation to then come up with new and creative ways to engage these people, or find out why they arent egaged, will become obsolete.
What happens if voting is compulsory and some people dont vote? What penalties will then be put in place and how will they be enforced? Is it fair, for example, that someone should be fined (pay money to the goverenment) or potentially serve jail-time for not voting? It becomes a case of: ‘so if I dont vote, I need to pay you money’ or ‘so if I dont vote, you will take away my other rights and freedoms’.
I am not necessarily opposed to compulsory voting, depending on whether a fair enough arrangement can be worked out, but I do believe that it is a less viable tactic than simply improving on the educational backgrounds of individuals. And if schools manage to get more funding, then I say that is a pretty good win too.
I really enjoy your opening to this incredible political writing piece. Straight away I am able to identify you opinion on this topic of socioeconomic inequality within political engagement of society. But there’s also a clear overview of what’s to come further on in the article, which is helpful.
What really stood out to me was the great use of statistics within your work. The points you make about gaps between voting turn out amongst social classes are really nicely demonstrated through the clear graph. It is easy to understand and also creates a security within your argument as I am able to see the evidence of the information you use. I also often find myself spending lots of time trying to decipher graphs in articles, but you have simplified this for me, and I appreciate that element of your work.
Furthermore, you go on to give a detailed story of the extent of the problems in this area of politics. Why lack of equality in political engagement is an issue and how big an issue it is. This coupled with the explanation of key terms throughout the post creates a slick and well thought out argument.
Not only is this the case, but you also go on to offer solutions to the problems that you earlier highlight. It is encouraging to see the many ways in which there is potential to improve political engagement of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. It also rounds the piece off nicely as it does not leave the post on a negative, dismal note, it concludes with practical solutions. And those solutions are well informed, justified and explained.
And finally ending with a question for the reader to ponder upon seems like a really great way to ensure the article penetrates the readers thoughts even after they have finished reading your work.
I really enjoyed reading this post and it filled me with hope when reading the solutions you proposed to inequality in political engagement.
This argument made for an interesting piece of reading – the parts about mandatory voting and the compulsory inclusion of political education within schools brings up a valid point when looking at equalling the playing field for all young people regardless of class!
Socio-economic inequalities in political engagement is an incredibly important issue that needs to be addressed, considering the evidence you have provided for differences in turnout between the different social grades. Your focus on how this affects our position as a ‘democratic’ nation is very well presented and it is great that you provided potential solutions for the problem. I definitely agree that more can be done in terms of educating members of society about how important their right to vote is, and how it could benefit them to exercise it. I will make the point, however, that compulsory participation in schools for activities that encourage political participation and expanding one’s knowledge as part of the curriculum is a more achievable goal than making voting itself compulsory. You have argued your case for compulsory voting well, but we arent just talking about people who ‘value their individualism and freedom of choice’ lightly. An individual’s right to vote is exactly that, a right – just like their right to an attorney, their right to a fair trial, or their right to privacy. Voting is essentially a civil right which governments should not be able to infringe, otherwise it could be a slippery slope towards their involvement in other rights as previously metioned. What kind of detrimental effects could that potentially have for our nation as a whole?
There are also other potential issues/questions to consider such as:
1. What if some people just simply dont feel that ANY of the candidates represent their interest, but then still have to vote for one of them? Does that not undermine the purpose of democracy anyway? If someone felt strongly that their interests are not represented or will not be addressed by the potential government presented to them, then voting would just be a waste of time for them anyway, and they would essentially be voting for a government that they dont even want. The people who are apathetic and disillusioned will slip through the cracks so that our ability and motivation to then come up with new and creative ways to engage these people, or find out why they arent egaged, will become obsolete.
What happens if voting is compulsory and some people dont vote? What penalties will then be put in place and how will they be enforced? Is it fair, for example, that someone should be fined (pay money to the goverenment) or potentially serve jail-time for not voting? It becomes a case of: ‘so if I dont vote, I need to pay you money’ or ‘so if I dont vote, you will take away my other rights and freedoms’.
I am not necessarily opposed to compulsory voting, depending on whether a fair enough arrangement can be worked out, but I do believe that it is a less viable tactic than simply improving on the educational backgrounds of individuals. And if schools manage to get more funding, then I say that is a pretty good win too.
I really enjoy your opening to this incredible political writing piece. Straight away I am able to identify you opinion on this topic of socioeconomic inequality within political engagement of society. But there’s also a clear overview of what’s to come further on in the article, which is helpful.
What really stood out to me was the great use of statistics within your work. The points you make about gaps between voting turn out amongst social classes are really nicely demonstrated through the clear graph. It is easy to understand and also creates a security within your argument as I am able to see the evidence of the information you use. I also often find myself spending lots of time trying to decipher graphs in articles, but you have simplified this for me, and I appreciate that element of your work.
Furthermore, you go on to give a detailed story of the extent of the problems in this area of politics. Why lack of equality in political engagement is an issue and how big an issue it is. This coupled with the explanation of key terms throughout the post creates a slick and well thought out argument.
Not only is this the case, but you also go on to offer solutions to the problems that you earlier highlight. It is encouraging to see the many ways in which there is potential to improve political engagement of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. It also rounds the piece off nicely as it does not leave the post on a negative, dismal note, it concludes with practical solutions. And those solutions are well informed, justified and explained.
And finally ending with a question for the reader to ponder upon seems like a really great way to ensure the article penetrates the readers thoughts even after they have finished reading your work.
I really enjoyed reading this post and it filled me with hope when reading the solutions you proposed to inequality in political engagement.
This argument made for an interesting piece of reading – the parts about mandatory voting and the compulsory inclusion of political education within schools brings up a valid point when looking at equalling the playing field for all young people regardless of class!