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Single Idea 20508

[catalogued under 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / b. Consultation]

Full Idea

Mill believed in an open vote. People should be held accountable for how they vote, and therefore it should be a matter of public record.

Gist of Idea

How people vote should be on public record, so they can be held accountable

Source

report of John Stuart Mill (Representative Government [1861]) by Jonathan Wolff - An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev) 3 'Representative'

A Reaction

Nowadays it is a mantra that voting should be secret, because coercion is an obvious problem, but MPs vote publicly, and are held accountable for their voting records. People like the mafia seem to make open public voting impossible.

Book Reference

Wolff,Jonathan: 'An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Rev)' [OUP 2006], p.97