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Nornagest comments on 2011 Survey Results - Less Wrong
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Comments (513)
Within a US-specific context, I would eschew these comparisons to a notional average and use the following levels of participation:
0 = indifferent to politics and ignorant of current events
1 = attentive to current events, but does not vote
2 = votes in presidential elections, but irregularly otherwise
3 = always votes
4 = always votes and contributes to political causes
5 = always votes, contributes, and engages in political activism during election seasons
6 = always votes, contributes, and engages in political activism both during and between election seasons
7 = runs for public office
I suspect that the average US citizen of voting age is a 2, but I don't have data to back that up, and I am not motivated to research it. I am a 4, so I do indeed think that I am above average.
Those categories could probably be modified pretty easily to match a parliamentary system by leaving out the reference to presidential elections and just having "votes irregularly" and "always votes"
Editing to add -- for mandatory voting jurisdictions, include a caveat that "spoiled ballot = did not vote"
I agree denotationally with that estimate, but I think you're putting too much emphasis on voting in at least the 0-4 range. Elections (in the US) only come up once or exceptionally twice a year, after all. If you're looking for an estimate of politics' significance to a person's overall life, I think you'd be better off measuring degree of engagement with current events and involvement in political groups -- the latter meaning not only directed activism, but also political blogs, non-activist societies with a partisan slant, and the like.
For example: do you now, or have you ever, owned a political bumper sticker?
Maybe: "How frequently do you visit websites/read media that have an explicit political slant?"