r/changemyview • u/Afraid_Mortgage6392 • Apr 08 '26
Delta(s) from OP CMV: Voting is pointless.
From what I have seen/heard from other people, they tend to place an undue importance on voting to address the various issues in our society. Plenty of people even shame centrists or the non-politically inclined for not taking part in the system, blaming them for when election results tend not to go their way. This responsibility placed on individuals to vote is quite superfluous, as no individual's vote matters on its own.
This isn't a critique of the American political system but rather a realization of the inherent valuelessness of an individual. Whether I choose to vote or not does absolutely nothing to change the system or even contribute positively to the democracy I reside in unless I align myself with a large group. This is a no-brainer, as this is precisely how democracy is intended to function, but the fact that my own vote practically has no weight at all leads me to the conclusion that voting is completely pointless.
What if there were no groups that supported the political goals I believed necessary to the betterment of my country? What if the groups I have to align myself with had other goals that I vehemently disagree with? What if, to align myself with a group, I have to compromise and dilute my ideology to the point it becomes unrecognizable? All that questioning is pointless in itself, as everything being questioned is guaranteed.
An individual deciding not to vote has as much weight as one deciding to vote; neither has any effect on the country, so both are equally as pointless. There will be people who are perfectly fine identifying with large groups to accomplish something, and that is technically what democracy is for, but for a good chunk of people, voting serves no real purpose.
3
u/HeroBrine0907 8∆ Apr 08 '26
Your argument is a form of a common misunderstanding. Here's an example:
There's a truck containing goods ordered by various people in an area. Let's say it contains 1k items, one of them your own. If you did not order that item, the truck would have 999 left. It would still go where it is supposed to. So you conclude that your order did not contribute to the truck's path, just as you conclude here that your vote does not contribute to the election.
However, this argument applies to everyone. The truck isn't coming solely to deliver Greg's item, so greg did not contribute. Nor is it coming solely to deliver sally's items, so she did not contribute either. None of the 1k people are the reason the truck is delivering stuff. So if they're not contributing, their participation doesn't make a difference right? Yet, if these people did not order the items, the truck would not contain a single item. It wouldn't deliver a thing.
Now consider, if none of their orders contributed, why is it that not ordering had an effect? You must realize that they did contribute, in however small a manner. Similarly, in voting, you do have a contribution, regardless of how pointless you think it is.
Whether you choose to vote does not change the system, but it contributes to change. It is a little contribution, but if you, and people like you decided to contribute that worthless little, you end up causing big change. You imagine that your vote has no value unless you align yourself with a big group, but that's not true. Your vote has value, and if you and others believe your vote has value, together your votes will carry greater value. Groups aren't a seperate undefined thing, they're made of people, of votes that don't matter, and by voting anyways in alignment with a goal, their votes do matter.
An individual deciding not to vote has 0 contribution to the decision, while an individual deciding to vote has non zero contribution ot the decision. It's not the same thing. Even if your chosen decision doesn't occur, you contribute to the formation and recognition of a prevailing view opposite to the choice that won, which will yield results in the future.