I am going to make a bet with you. I bet (some undisclosed large sum of money) that you do not wake up each morning, look in the mirror, and say, "How can I do evil today?"
Sure, some people do bad things in pursuit of personal or ideological objectives, or in the heat of the moment. But very few set out to do bad things for the sake of doing bad things. Most of us would prefer to make the world a better place…or at least not actively make it worse.
At this point, we have all seen those clickbait titles that start with "One Weird Trick…" and then go on to offer some quick-fix cure or "life hack." Obviously, I am not going to use such a title here, but the truth is, I could have.
Because there really is one simple, easy technique to avoid making the world a worse place.
Democracy does not solve the problem.
There is no valid claim anywhere in the universe that can justify violations of consent. Most people understand this when it comes to
tradition,
the divine right of kings, and other historical claims. But the same applies to
democracy.
Voting—either directly or for representatives—does not solve the consent problem. Whether you vote or not, whether you win the vote or not, things will be done to you to which you did not consent—even when you have not harmed anyone else.
Voting ≠ consent.
The same applies to the imposition of the system as a whole. For consent to be valid, it must be
voluntary,
explicit,
transparent,
informed, and
revocable. No government on the planet receives valid consent.
None.
Zero.
Nada. Not even the United States, not even in 1789, when it was brand new.
Forced consent ≠ consent.
The bottom line: involuntary governance is categorically illegitimate. It cannot be justified by notions of majority rule, democratic participation, or even benevolent outcomes.
You lost the vote…It’s for your own good…You benefit anyway…You consented by staying—none of these can be used as moral defenses. Nothing justifies imposing governance on unwilling individuals, just as nothing justifies any other nonconsensual incursions upon the person, property, or liberty of another. They are both
manifestations of the same impermissible act.
