How Powerful is Your Vote?
Power is the ability to act according to your will by exerting control over your environment. The more power you have, the more needs and desires you can fulfill.
But things get complicated as soon as your environment becomes polluted with other people. Resources are scarce, and this leads to conflicts. Power over nature can extend to power over people.
Your power is diminished to the extent that others can exert their power over you and your environment, and vice versa. In the extreme case, a totalitarian dictator can exert absolute power over everyone else. Democracy promises to mitigate this risk by distributing power evenly among the population.
“Empowerment” is often regarded as synonymous with voting. The vote is the means by which marginalized groups could break their shackles, have their say, and win back the freedoms that they have lost to the power of others.
But how much power does a vote really bestow?
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