Norway votes on monday, and as usual I try find out which party to vote on some time before the big day. Here are a couple of the things I’m considering when finding good candidates:
- I don’t have any parties that are “mine.” I find worthwhile arguments both on the left, center and right side of the political spectrum, and I try to be open to new arguments.
- There are waaaay too many things going on in our society (and in the world in general) to make informed decisions on everything. This means I’ll have to look for the basics – values, world view, ambitions, priorities between group/society and the individual, previous history and other “gut feeling” factors.
- Still, there are a couple topics I think I’m comfortable with – topics where I have a slight opportunity of making an informed decision. For me, these include ICT policy, IP issues and questions rising from the tensions between traditional media+business and new technology.
- I’ve chosen to weigh the issues where I’m informed higher than the topics I don’t know much about. This is mostly because I see which parties have bad and/or lacking policies, but also because I think it’s the right thing to do.
- Voting for me is about which direction I’d like to see my society move. But in order to have an idea on this, I’ll have to understand as much as I can about how society works. This is a work in progress, and in the meantime I’ll vote mainly on issues where I can say something coherent and useful.
- I’ve decided not to vote tactically (“likelyhood of winning” is NOT a criteria I’m considering.) The notion of tactical voting even disgusts me a little. :-6
Happy voting!
Tags: democracy