The good news is we can already test this hypothesis by looking at the countries that already enforce compulsory voting [1]:
Argentina
Australia
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Ecuador
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Nauru
North Korea
Peru
Pitcairn Islands
Samoa
Singapore
Swiss canton of Schaffhausen
Uruguay
Which one of these is a democratic paradise that the author would like to emulate?
Australia is probably the best of the bunch but it's demography and geography are not comparable to the US, a lot of things that work there don't translate here and vice versa.
The author theorizes:
> When the only question voters face is whose ideas they prefer, politicians will naturally focus on developing and debating real world ideas rather than fantasies, and democracy can live up to its moral and practical potential.
O RLY? Is that the situation in Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador? TL;DR: No.
This article also presumes the bedrock of democracy is elections, but in fact that's just one dimension and not necessarily the most important one -- rule of law, civil institutions, a functioning state are all equally if not more important than the selection of specific leaders.
Good book on this topic: https://www.amazon.com/Wars-Guns-Votes-Democracy-Dangerous/d...
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting#:~:text=15)%...
Australia is probably the best of the bunch but it's demography and geography are not comparable to the US, a lot of things that work there don't translate here and vice versa.
The author theorizes:
> When the only question voters face is whose ideas they prefer, politicians will naturally focus on developing and debating real world ideas rather than fantasies, and democracy can live up to its moral and practical potential.
O RLY? Is that the situation in Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador? TL;DR: No.
This article also presumes the bedrock of democracy is elections, but in fact that's just one dimension and not necessarily the most important one -- rule of law, civil institutions, a functioning state are all equally if not more important than the selection of specific leaders.
Good book on this topic: https://www.amazon.com/Wars-Guns-Votes-Democracy-Dangerous/d...
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting#:~:text=15)%...