Thoughts on Political Franchise

Franchise is the idea that liberties should be granted to all indiscriminately however the right to govern should be earnt.

Political Franchise has non-trivial issues with how high the barrier needs to be to enter and if the entry criteria is changed. However I feel like these are the same issues as normal Democracy as education in this sense is the barrier to voting effectively. What does it matter if you take the time to research if you neighbour does not? Those in power acting in bad faith have an incentive to reduce political intelligence or mislead and make it illegal to retaliate when the system no longer works fairly.

I feel the following three points make Political Franchise worthwhile:

  1. The barrier of entry is high but not unfair

    The goal is to have a reachable barrier for those who care or are patriots but no too high that only zealots end up joining.

  2. All provisions are applied ubiquitously regardless of franchise status

    Law or changes to citizens have to be for everyone. The Franchised cannot pass exemptions or bonuses for themselves. This would just make it a ruling class.

  3. Consequences rises with station

    With power comes great responsibility and consequences. Sentencing must be harsher for those who have more power so that the risk to reward stays in check.

These principles would help rut out a lot of corruption and carelessness that we have today in our political systems and would let people who want nothing to do with politics just move on with their lives without fear of repercussions.