Greg Mankiw was a columnist for Fortune back in 2000, when he wrote Why Some People Shouldn’t Vote, the only piece his editors refused to run. Here’s how it begins:
As election day gets close, get ready to hear the usual exhortations about voting. Whether Bush or Gore is the better choice is debatable, but responsible people all agree that everyone should be encouraged to vote. It’s a national disgrace, the hand-wringers say, that millions of eligible voters fail to turn out in presidential elections. Voting is a civic responsibility, they tell us, because democracy works best when everyone participates.The problem is, this isn’t true. Sometimes the most responsible thing a person can do on election day is stay at home.