The Problem with Universal Suffrage
In the modern west it is seen as a sign of backwardness if a country does not have universal suffrage for all adults. As a clear stakeholder in the state, why are those below the arbitrary age of eighteen disenfranchised, clearly subjected to the status of second-class citizenship?
That they don’t pay taxes; that they don’t work; that they are dependents—the same can be said for many who currently enjoy the right to vote. In fact, whatever the reason given, it can usually be shown to be empty, for most turn on the question of competency.