Arnold Kling discusses “real freedom”:
The exercise of voice, including the right to vote, is not the ultimate expression of freedom. Rather, it is the last refuge of those who suffer under a monopoly. If we take it as given that the political jurisdiction where I reside is a monopoly, then perhaps I will have more influence over that monopoly if I have a right to vote and a right to organize opposition than if I do not. However, as my forthcoming Unchecked and Unbalanced argues, the reality is that the amount of influence I have is shrinking while the scope of the monopolist is growing.
…
which would you rather have–the right to vote or the right to leave?
Classic.
If you have ever written to your representative and received the form letter thanking you in reply, then you have the beginnings of the sense of this. One curse of “our” wealth perhaps is that I feel “we” are willing to tolerate a lot more than our predecessors did.
