You already know the value of free and fair elections better than most if you have ever lived in:
- an anarchy (as in Somalia, 1991-2012, or
- an autocracy like any of the following examples
- a region controlled by a drug cartel (Medellin Cartel in Columbia, 1976-93)
- a country controlled by a military junta (Myanmar, 1962 onward, Argentina 1976-83)
- a dictatorship (Saddam Hussein in Iraq, 1979-2006)
- countries with governments that allow only one political party (the People’s Republic of China), one religion (Saudi Arabia), one “race” (Germany 1935-45), or one economic system (Cuba)
- countries with governments that regularly punish their political opponents, like Russia and Syria.
Unlike authoritarian regimes, regular, free, and fair elections allow voters to make collective choices about their representatives and the policies they want to support.
Unlike countries that limit basic freedoms, competitive free and fair elections create an environment that allows the possibility of changing leadership without violence – no warfare between cartels, no coups against juntas, and no assassinations of competing factions or dictators.
Competitive, free, and fair elections offer our representatives and leaders an incentive to perform well – on our behalf – not theirs – because they are accountable to each of us, the voters.
Put another way, free and fair elections offer a way to maintain the ultimate power of the voters and move control away from the powerful few. This feature makes all the difference between whose freedom and welfare is prioritized.
Political competition becomes focused on who can earn enough votes to win the right to represent and legislate – instead of bribery, coups, assassinations, repression, and violence. Free and fair elections make it possible to hold legislators and leaders accountable to the voters. Under the best circumstances, elections can encourage healthy competition for the best problem-solving policies.
This “best policies” competition suggests a link between elections and national prosperity. The evidence backs this up. (For example, see our short course “Democracy is Precious.”) Well-functioning republics with competitive elections and basic freedoms have many advantages. They are less corrupt, more inclusive, better problem-solvers, more stable and less violent, less likely to go to war with other democracies and offer more opportunities for success. The cumulative effect is that they have a higher standard of living and are happier.
Today’s key takeaway is that elections are essential to your freedom and prosperity.
If you want to learn more about elections, we have a 9-part course, each part is a 20 minute read. Easy! Click here: https://cffad.org/things-you-might-not-know-about-elections/
See our other topics here: https://cffad.org/topics/ and our glossary here: https://cffad.org/glossary/
