I'm happy to discuss law, morality, philosophy, international agreements and customs, policies, and their effects and rationalisations, and what should be done and what seems wrong.
I'm happy to discuss the *issue*, the obstacles, the solutions.
But dividing EVERYTHING into red vs blue and then lumping people into one side or the other is just some paleolithic gang rivalry and it's a waste of time when that becomes the argument.
I'm happy to discuss law, morality, philosophy, international agreements and customs, policies, and their effects and rationalisations, and what should be done and what seems wrong.
Amen to that. I think it is entirely possible to "do politics" without supporting one party or another. Unfortunately, the major political parties are a necessary evil, to get matters decided in government. It is either red or blue, you don't get to pick and mix. Personally, I see nothing wrong with being libertarian and liberal at the same time, so I am neither fish nor fowl, as far as party politics is concerned.
Unfortunately, the major political parties are a necessary evil
Look outside the US. Most parliamentary systems have at least one fairly strong third party, and much less voter loyalty. For many, one party having an outright majority is a fairly rare occurrence. A good many even sport a fair number of independent representatives.
The habit of concentrating power in the hands of a single winner-take-all individual produces strategic advantages for a two-party system. As a republic, the US has a directly(ish) e
Speaking from the UK, we have two major parties: Conservative and Labour, and a few minority parties. It appears to be very difficult to create new political parties that have any realistic chance of even a few MPs getting seats in Parliament. The Greens have one MP, despite quite widespread voter support. As far as I can tell, this situation is largely due to our first-past-the-post voting system, which you call winner-take-all. I am doing a bit of gentle politics on the subject of proportional representat
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Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't discuss "politics".
I'm happy to discuss law, morality, philosophy, international agreements and customs, policies, and their effects and rationalisations, and what should be done and what seems wrong.
I'm happy to discuss the *issue*, the obstacles, the solutions.
But dividing EVERYTHING into red vs blue and then lumping people into one side or the other is just some paleolithic gang rivalry and it's a waste of time when that becomes the argument.
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I'm happy to discuss law, morality, philosophy, international agreements and customs, policies, and their effects and rationalisations, and what should be done and what seems wrong.
Amen to that. I think it is entirely possible to "do politics" without supporting one party or another. Unfortunately, the major political parties are a necessary evil, to get matters decided in government. It is either red or blue, you don't get to pick and mix. Personally, I see nothing wrong with being libertarian and liberal at the same time, so I am neither fish nor fowl, as far as party politics is concerned.
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Look outside the US. Most parliamentary systems have at least one fairly strong third party, and much less voter loyalty. For many, one party having an outright majority is a fairly rare occurrence. A good many even sport a fair number of independent representatives.
The habit of concentrating power in the hands of a single winner-take-all individual produces strategic advantages for a two-party system. As a republic, the US has a directly(ish) e
Re: (Score:2)
Speaking from the UK, we have two major parties: Conservative and Labour, and a few minority parties. It appears to be very difficult to create new political parties that have any realistic chance of even a few MPs getting seats in Parliament. The Greens have one MP, despite quite widespread voter support. As far as I can tell, this situation is largely due to our first-past-the-post voting system, which you call winner-take-all. I am doing a bit of gentle politics on the subject of proportional representat
Re:Not just at work (Score:2)
First past the post Westminster-style parliaments are not friendly to third parties.
The countries with proportional representation have many more.
Personally, I'm not a fan of proportional rep, but I would prefer ranked ballots to pure first past the post.