Shouldn’t everybody have an equal vote? Isn’t majority rule just an excuse to keep minorities down? Is a truly fair democracy even possible? And how do we decide what counts as fair in the first place? This week on Philosophy Talk, we’ll explore answers to these questions!

The slogan “one person, one vote” have been used in a variety of settings to express a democratic ideal: elections should provide every citizen with an equal say in governance. But in America, the reality still falls short of the ideal.

America’s so-called democracy is under serious strain these days. Some fear that the system may soon be stressed to the breaking point. So we thought we’d start out the summer with a deeper look at Democracy in America.

Alain Badiou, one of France's premiere philosophers and public intellectuals, recently wrote a column in Le Monde commenting on the current French election. After he runs through characteristics and relative merits of the top four contenders, he comes to an ironic conclusion: there is no reason to vote.