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Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Student's Newspaper. Volume 31, Number 8. April 30 1968

Editorial — April 30, 1968 — Opinions expressed in Salient are not necessarily those of VUWSA. — Representation for education

Editorial

April 30, 1968

Opinions expressed in Salient are not necessarily those of VUWSA.

Representation for education

If sufficient funds are ever to be made available for education, the voting age must be lowered.

Democratic theory has it that because a man's best interests will be served by giving him some sanction against the government, the best interests of the greatest number are served by giving everyone a sanction—the vote.

In democratic practice, however, the interests of a large group—those under twenty-one—is not cared for in this way.

There are practical difficulties in giving children a vote, and, indeed it can be claimed that their interests are best cared for by their "virtual representation", by the fact that a very large group of voters have their interests at heart.

But Edmund Burke would hardly claim that his concept of virtual representation applied to young people who have left school. There is much open antipathy to teenagers, and to university students. And, far more dangerous, there is little interest in them, and much ignorance.

The uses to which people of, say, eighteen, would put their votes are limited because in many respects their interests are identical to those of the present electorate. There would, however, be obvious and significant changes in government attitudes to education if the voting age were lowered.

This is useful. A campaign to lower the voting age will be able to draw support not only from the people who would be enfranchised and the liberal democrats, but also from the people who recognize the extreme economic, social, and personal importance of education.

People who think more money should be spent on education are mostly perceptive enough to realize that they are too few to, on their own, ensure greater spending.

There are enough of them to be of great value to a campaign for a lower voting age. And in the long term this is obviously the best way of achieving their end.