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Feddites who live in countries with elections, do you generally feel morally responsible for your government’s actions? Why/Whynot? (kbin.social)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Exaggerated and made up example of what I’m curious about:

My country has legitimate elections. When my government wrongly convicts someone I feel as if I have personally wronged that person by voting for the person who appointed the judge. God will judge both me and the judge for it.

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[–] kat_angstrom 4 points 8 months ago

I'd argue that nobody is morally or ethically responsible for the actions taken by a politician simply because they voted for that politician. Politicians themselves are responsible for their own actions.

Think about it like this: Scenario 1: if a politician makes an election promise that helps get them elected, and once elected they decide to renege on the promise, is that the fault of the people who voted for them?

Scenario 2: a politician runs on a platform talking a lot about health care and gun control. Once elected, they grant massive tax cuts to giant corporations, something never mentioned in their original platform. Once they're done being a politician, they get a job working with one of the giant corporations who benefited from the tax cuts. Is that the fault of the voters?

Scenario 3: a politician runs on a platform of killing people, and once elected, kills some people as promised.

For #3 you can make a decent case of Maybe yes, voters have some moral responsibility, but for 1 and 2 it seems less clear cut. Thus: it's not a black-and-white thing, more grey than anything