Voter vs. Consumer

Currently, India is in an election mood. In fact in India elections are termed as the 'maha-tyohar' i.e. the great festival. The year 2019 is, in fact, the election year for almost 62 countries across the world. 

I am not a political analyst, neither I intend to be one. But nonetheless, I am a political observer for sure. Many of the analysts have studied the link between politics and the economy. In fact, political economy is the discipline in itself. But what fascinates me the most is the behavior of the people in these two domains i.e.politics and economics. The same people who are voters in the election are consumers in the market. But the behavior as a voter vis-`a-vis consumer significantly differs.

The general observation shows that an individual is more conscious, aware and alert as a consumer than that as a voter. Why? Because as a consumer he is spending the money and it is the hard earned money. Also, the consumer before spending on anything goes through its reviews, compares it with goods of the other brand, ensures its quality and finds out whether it serves the purpose. 

Whereas the same individual while acting as a voter does not seem so alert or conscious. Why? Because as a voter he is just spending the vote and this vote is not hard earned but is entitled to him just for being above a certain threshold age. Unfortunately, there is no tangible value, or any monetary value for that case, to the vote in the eyes of the voter.

The consumer pays, say Rs.500, to the shopkeeper and holds him accountable for the goods or services purchased from him. If afterward the consumer finds out that the quality is compromised, he again goes to that shopkeeper, asks for an immediate resolution to the grievance. Whereas the voter spends his vote by casting it to someone and then what happens? Does the voter hold the candidate accountable if he does not deliver on his promises?

So we need to sensitize everyone about the immense value of the vote, he is entitled to cast. A vote is not just something to be spent carelessly. Because ultimately, politics and elections drive the economy and market to a very large extent. So a carefully casted vote is nothing less than consciously spent money, in fact much more than that.