The Political Sphere

I was very surprised by a statement made in 'The Semisovereign People'. The author demands that the struggle for the vote, both with blacks and with women was an easy fight. I have always envisioned the women's movement to be a very controversial ordeal characterized by great resistance. The author blames nostalgic Americans for romanticizing the suffrage movements- but for what benefit? I do not understand the author's claim in relevance to the rest of his article. Is this claim necessary to advance his claim that giving blacks and women the right to vote was simply a by-product of the system of party conflict?

Perhaps what the author is trying to illustrate is that this 'battle for the vote' is still being fought. The lack of participation from a large portion of the population is not voluntary but rather dominated by the structure of the political system. As stated in the article, participation is governed by what issues are discussed in political campaigns and how they are brought about. I was very intrigued by this statement. I have never considered the notion that there were other issues to be talked about. I have always taken for granted that the issues being discussed are semi-relevant to my daily life but not necessarily to many others. But how is this issue solved? If politicians know that a large majority of people don't vote (and that these people are less active in the community, thus are interested in similar issues), then what will motivate them to begin talking about the issues that these people are truly concerned about? On the other hand, if these non-voters know politicians will not address the issues that they are most concerned about, why should they invest time in the political system? Once again we encounter the question, "What comes first, the chicken or the egg?"