The view that non-voting is bad is contrasted with the view that non-voting can be functional for a political system. Works by Schattschneider and Berelson et al. are examined. Limitations in their arguments are pointed out, particularly the farmer\u27s assertion that non-voters are being manipulated and the letters\u27 emphasis on the short-run aspects of the system. The arguments are related to traditional conceptions of democracy
