WHY NOT VOTING MATTERS

Documentary film maker Bryan Bruce can't see a plutocracy when one is staring him in the face.

A LOT OF people are wanting me to vote. Politicians. Trade union officials. Newspaper columnists. Bloggers. Talkback hosts. Television presenters. Happy to ignore me in between elections, they are suddenly concerned that I should have 'my say' in the 'democratic process.' They want me to be a 'responsible citizen' and vote. And I'm warned that if I don't vote 'I will have no right to complain' and I should just shut up for the next three years. Nice.

For those of us are a more progressive bent we're advised by the usual suspects that maybe Labour and the Green's ain't up to much it, but at least they keep National out of power. Lesser evilism. The virus that has infected the New Zealand left for over three decades. As journalist Andrea Vance wrote recently 'choosing between the lesser of two evils isn't really much of a choice at all'.

Someone else who wants me to vote is documentary film maker Bryan Bruce. He has been a consistent opponent of neoliberalism. Many of his documentaries are informed by that opposition. He's not so much a socialist but a left social democrat. He's an admirer of aspects of Scandinavian social democracy, for example.

But his rather benign and naive view of our present economic system means he's capable of writing stuff like this : 'If you want Oligarchy ( constant rule by a powerful few) if you want big corporations and big money to control your life then don’t vote.'

Breaking news, Bryan. We're already living in such as society. The horse that Bruce wants to keep locked in the stable bolted across the fields long ago and headed over the horizon. We live in a society where not only does the level of inequality continue to rise, the political system works diligently at protecting the economic interests of the already wealthy. Our political system has the outward appearance of democracy, but it is largely controlled by undemocratic forces. We're living in a plutocracy and there are no effective channels through which we can affect the decisions government makes.

Its not a coincidence that all our present parliamentary parties are loyal to the free market and neoliberalism. Not one party or politician is offering an alternative. There is no Jeremy Corbyn or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sitting in our parliament. As I said in a recent column: 'The hyper-concentration of wealth in the hands of the few has corrupted and overwhelmed our 'representative democracy' to such an extent that it will do nothing to upset the economic and political interests of the one percent.'

Even at a time of deep economic crisis our political parties are only interested in propping up and defending a failing status quo. That's exactly what Jacinda Ardern means when she talks of 'rebuilding the economy'. But while there has been a massive financial bailout for those at the top end of town, the rest of us have received next to nothing and will continue to struggle no matter who is elected to government in the near future.

But Bruce doesn't appear to be concerned about the plight of the working class because he wants us to 'preserve our democratic way of life'. The one we've got right now. He clearly can't see a plutocracy when one is staring him in the face. But, to add insult to injury, he actually blames us non-voters for not participating in the election charade. We're apparently 'lazy and cynical.' I guess we're just not as enlightened as Bruce.

Maybe Bryan Bruce should consider that maybe, just maybe, the political parties are at fault - and not us. Its too much to ask though that the present crop of parliamentary parties will offer anything other than a 'vision' (such as it is) and policies that are determined by the priorities of the market. In that case we need a new progressive party that will give people something worth voting for.