A favorite of some on the Left, Noam Chomsky recently wrote: "Going back to why people don't vote, I presume the main reason is because they understand without reading political science texts that it doesn't make any difference how they vote. It's not going to affect policy, so why bother?"
The basic problem with that position is that it does not reflect reality. How ordinary people vote affects policy and can save lives. When some on the Left decided that it made no difference whether they supported Gore or not, the people of Iraq paid a bloody price. The working people of this country got a Great Recession. Yes, this country is mostly--but not entirely--an oligarchy, but that does not make voting pointless. Without intending to, Chomsky is helping the Republicans suppress the vote . . . or he would be if what he writes mattered.
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