                    Voting Anarchists: An Oxymoron or What?
                             BAD Broadside #8

         While historically anarchists assiduously avoided any involvement
     with electoral politics, in more recent times, at least in the united
     states, some anarchists have advocated voting. The arguments these 
     voting anarchists put forward are generally the same as those put 
     forward by other leftists who are unable or unwilling to completely 
     sever their connection to the political process. They argue that voting
     for their candidate, usually described as a lesser evil and usually
     (if not always) a Democrat, is necessary to prevent united states 
     aggression against some favored revolutionary state (like sandinista 
     nicaragua), is some sort of self-defense against the more conservative
     candidate, or is merely better than "apathy," as some describe 
     abstention from voting. While one could argue against voting simply
     because it rarely, if ever, accomplishes any of the goals its 
     advocates claim it can, there is a more fundamental reason for
     anarchists to oppose voting: voting in government elections is an
     inherently authoritarian activity, and authoritarian means never yield
     libertarian results.

         The primary reason why anti-statists should not vote, and in fact
     should oppose voting, is that the very act of voting is an attempt on
     the part of voters to delegate to another a power that they could not
     justly possess themselves. Government is based on coercion. While
     states of various sorts provide some services and benefits to 
     residents of their jurisdictions, the institution of government also 
     utilizes cops, courts, the military, the IRS, etc, to coercively
     interfere in the lives of its subjects. Anarchists argue that no one, 
     whether in or out of government should have such power. If this is 
     true, anarchists, who oppose political power and coercion of any
     sort, cannot consistently advocate voting. Individuals should not have
     the authority to coerce others, and therefore they should not put
     themselves in a position to delegate such authority to third parties,
     which is the essence of voting. While some argue that they vote only 
     in self-defense, the consequence of their voting is that their 
     candidate coerces others who choose not to participate in the process,
     and therefore this method of self-defense should be unacceptable to 
     anarchists.

         Besides being unethical for an anti-authoritarian in and of 
     itself, participation in electoral politics serves to legitimize the 
     whole political process and the existence of government. If people did
     not vote, the democratic theory of government would lose its 
     legitimacy and politicians would have to justify their rule on the
     basis of something other than the alleged consent of the governed. 
     This, hopefully, would make the true nature of the state more obvious
     to the governed. And such a revelation would have the potential to 
     motivate people to challenge, evade, or ignore government interference
     and coercion.

         Even if anarchists could ethically participate in voting, there is
     one major reason to boycott the process: any candidate anarchists help
     elect will implement interventionist policies and initiate coercive
     actions, the results of which will be incompatible with anarchist
     goals. While voting for a Democrat may arguably make intervention in
     cuba or nicaragua less likely, it could make matters worse in 
     israel/palestine or south africa. (Neither the ANC nor the PLO will 
     take a position on the united states presidential election, basically
     because they support Bush, but are embarrassed to admit this 
     publicly.) Voters claim that a Republican will make things worse
     economically for working and/or poor people in the united states;
     however increased taxes, which will certainly be enacted by a
     Democratic president, will further impoverish the working people from
     whom they are extorted. Additionally, while people fear a supreme 
     court with a Republican-appointed majority, individual justices are
     unpredictable (like Sandra Day O'Connor), and Democratic judges are as
     willing to coercively interfere in our lives as are Republicans.

         Besides not yielding the desired results, voting by anarchists 
     entails another weakness. Even if every anarchist in the united states
     voted in the presidential election, it would not influence the 
     outcome. There are few enough anarchists about that their individual
     votes are meaningless, since elections are decided by millions of 
     votes. If voting anarchists seriously believe that voting can 
     ethically be done, even by anarchists, then they should consider
     entering the political process fully and campaigning for presidential
     candidates. If it's acceptable for them to vote, it's acceptable for
     their candidates to hold power in a coercive government, and it's 
     acceptable for them to encourage others to vote. I have not seen any
     anarchists argue for active involvement in the Democratic party, but
     this is a logical outcome of anarchist arguments for voting. If these
     people aren't comfortable urging others to vote for their candidates, 
     they should rethink the justifications for their own voting.

         Non-voting on the part of anarchists is not a sign of apathy. On 
     the contrary, it is a sign of rejection of the political, i.e.,
     coercive, means of dealing with problems and living our lives. If, as
     anarchists, we are serious about finding new ways of living and 
     interacting, it would behoove us to stay out of the swamp of electoral
     politics and maintain our traditional opposition to involvement with 
     electoral politics in any form.


                                NO COPYRIGHT

              Please send two copies of any review or reprint
                      of all or part of this to:

                     Boston Anarchist Drinking Brigade
                               (BAD Brigade)
                                PO Box 1323
                            Cambridge, MA 02238

                     Internet: bbrigade@world.std.com

 
                             September, 1992
