The Bangalore municipal corporation elections got over yesterday. I happened to overhear this heated debate going on in Suvarna -- Should you vote or not? It's okay to not vote. Let me tell you why.
In a democracy functioning within a capitalist economy, the members of legislative bodies are chosen by parties which are heavily financed or influenced by private capitalists who, to quote Albert Einstein, "for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature." Consequently, representatives of the people (the guys for whom you vote) do not adequately represent your interest (unless you are Ratan Tata, Narayana Murthy, Mittal or Ambani).
Private capitalists directly or indirectly control the press, radio, education, and other mass media. It is thus, to quote Einstein again, extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.
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