The_Barnacle wrote on May 11
th, 2019 at 11:28am:
Bias_2012 wrote on May 10
th, 2019 at 12:59pm:
The_Barnacle wrote on May 9
th, 2019 at 10:25pm:
I'm guessing you put this in philosophy because you wanted to concentrate more on the ethics
That's correct
Punishment should not apply to anyone who has
not done anythingPunishment should only apply to someone who
has done somethingI'm using the terms "not done anything" and "has done something" only in their philosophical sense
The philosophy is that if you don't do anything, you are not infringing on others rights, therefore you should not receive any punishment
Using that philosophy, if you refuse to do jury duty, if you refuse to send your children to school, if you refuse to pay taxes, if you don't report a paedophile, if you don't render assistance after a car accident, all of these things shouldn't be punishable?
In reality, living in a society has many benefits, but also has some responsibilities.
Yes they should be punishable, all except jury duty and sending your children to school, they should be voluntary
But you can start separate threads about those if you like. This thread is about whether a gun should be held to your head to get you to vote, and whether two political parties (the ALP and the Coalition) have the right to dictate to other parties and the electorate
They actually don't have a right to dictate. That was Hitler's job
When the ALP and the Coalition dictate to the electorate, they are infringing on the rights of the electorate, in which case it's the ALP and the Coalition who should be punished, they are the ones suppressing a basic freedom, the freedom to vote, and free to vote without being under duress
With the ALP and the Coalition making it compulsory for people to vote means they are controlling that part of the democratic process, which in turn means they are shifting the power of control, from the people to the ALP and the Coalition, their own parties. Who do they think they are?
Australia is one of a small minority of countries dictating to the electorate and applying punishment in the voting process. The majority of free nations don't think it's such a good idea, and rightly so