Christopher Freiman convinces us that, contrary to what many contemporary democratic theorists claim, the act of voting or participating in political life is not a moral obligation. The author reconstructs, in a very accessible way for non-philosophers, the main methods of arguing for the obligatory nature of political commitment only to show their flaws. In doing so, he does not appeal to controversial moral theories but only to the common sense and consistency of the arguments of the proponents of the duty thesis. In general, he recognises that if we want to do good, direct action is a much better way of achieving this goal than involvement in politics: participation in charitable actions or activity in local communities and organisations.
Miłosz Ślepowroński (Tue,) studied this question.