Libertarianism and Voting

A lot of Libertarians who speak out against voting are of the Anarchist persuasion. The reason they do not vote is not because of apathy but quite the contrary it is a principled stand against the current form of government. People in our society usually see not voting as a sign of indifference, it has gotten to the point where many say if you don't vote you do not have the right to speak out against the government.

However in the case of the anarchist the act of voting is seen as a implicit approval of the current form of government so by voting you are giving the system legitimacy. Anarchists believe rights are naturally occurring and not dependent on the approval or disapproval of others. Voting goes against a couple basic anarchist principles The Non-Aggression Axiom and the Principle of Self Ownership. Voting violates The Non-Aggression Axiom because you are asking others to coerce people into believing as you do. Say I would vote to illegalize drugs that is like me asking others to arrest coerce and use violence against those who use drugs. It also violates the Principle of Self Ownership in that by voting you are claiming a higher authority over others lives then they have. Staying with the example of drugs, by saying the are not allowed to use certain substances is to say you have a higher claim to their life and their body which is a kind of slavery.

Some people say it is your civic responsibility to vote, but I believe my moral responsibility to not harm others in anyway and my moral opposition to slavery far outweighs any sort of patriotic guilt trip you can think up.