Don't believe everything that you read.
Quote by BethanyFrasier
The 2-party system worked for 200 years until campaign finance laws were relaxed and big money entered politics. Now, neither party represents the will of the people, just the will of special interests. Get money out of politics and the 2 party system will once again function well. Reverse Citizen's United, ban lobbyists, fund campaigns with public, not private funds, and get corporations and big banks out of politics, and we'll be a democracy again.
Quote by seeker4
I think party politics are not going away in any Western democracy. Even if you didn't have them formally built into the system, coalitions of politicians with shared interests would naturally form and start working together. Better to have them formally recognized and controlled, but with room for new parties to aris.
And I think that's really where Canada and the U.S. part on this: we have new parties arising on a fairly regular basis. While our core parties remain the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democratic parties (NDP are a social democratic party with no real US counterpart save perhaps the left wing of the Democrats, e.g. Bernie), things are far more interesting than that when you know the history.
During my lifetime we've had Reform rise and then merge with (read: take over) the former Progressive Conservative party to form the current Conservative Party of Canada. We've had a Quebec nationalist party called the Bloc Quebecois rise and fall (they still have a couple seats in Parliament but are far below where they were back in the nineties). We've seen Greens start to become a force in some regions.
Even the NDP have only existed in present form since the 1960s when they arose out of a previous party called the CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation). And the CCF was one of two new major parties that arose in the Depression, the other being Social Credit, which kind of fizzled out in the 1970s and 80s after winning a few provincial elections in provinces like Alberta and BC (where they held on the longest).
To my mind, having a system that allows for new parties and evolutionary (or revolutionary) change to existing parties is part of a healthy democracy and I really don't get the US two-party system. Either the two parties get along and you effectively have a one party state or they are clashing and you get gridlock. Having >2 adds voices and opens the door to things like minority governments and coalitions that allow those other voices to get involved in actual governance.
=== Not ALL LIVES MATTER until BLACK LIVES MATTER ===
Quote by seeker4
We have done some of this in Canada. Corporate donations are banned and private donations limited (though political fundraisers continue to be allowed and continue to create issues with conflict of interest). For a while, we had public funds going to parties based on share of popular vote but I think that got dropped or changed under the previous government. Have to check.
I think party politics are not going away in any Western democracy. Even if you didn't have them formally built into the system, coalitions of politicians with shared interests would naturally form and start working together. Better to have them formally recognized and controlled, but with room for new parties to aris.
And I think that's really where Canada and the U.S. part on this: we have new parties arising on a fairly regular basis. While our core parties remain the Liberal, Conservative, and New Democratic parties (NDP are a social democratic party with no real US counterpart save perhaps the left wing of the Democrats, e.g. Bernie), things are far more interesting than that when you know the history.
During my lifetime we've had Reform rise and then merge with (read: take over) the former Progressive Conservative party to form the current Conservative Party of Canada. We've had a Quebec nationalist party called the Bloc Quebecois rise and fall (they still have a couple seats in Parliament but are far below where they were back in the nineties). We've seen Greens start to become a force in some regions.
Even the NDP have only existed in present form since the 1960s when they arose out of a previous party called the CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation). And the CCF was one of two new major parties that arose in the Depression, the other being Social Credit, which kind of fizzled out in the 1970s and 80s after winning a few provincial elections in provinces like Alberta and BC (where they held on the longest).
To my mind, having a system that allows for new parties and evolutionary (or revolutionary) change to existing parties is part of a healthy democracy and I really don't get the US two-party system. Either the two parties get along and you effectively have a one party state or they are clashing and you get gridlock. Having >2 adds voices and opens the door to things like minority governments and coalitions that allow those other voices to get involved in actual governance.
Don't believe everything that you read.
Quote by BethanyFrasier
The 2-party system worked for 200 years until campaign finance laws were relaxed and big money entered politics. Now, neither party represents the will of the people, just the will of special interests. Get money out of politics and the 2 party system will once again function well. Reverse Citizen's United, ban lobbyists, fund campaigns with public, not private funds, and get corporations and big banks out of politics, and we'll be a democracy again.
Quote by BethanyFrasier
The 2-party system worked for 200 years until campaign finance laws were relaxed and big money entered politics. Now, neither party represents the will of the people, just the will of special interests. Get money out of politics and the 2 party system will once again function well. Reverse Citizen's United, ban lobbyists, fund campaigns with public, not private funds, and get corporations and big banks out of politics, and we'll be a democracy again.
Quote by Mixedupkaren
The US is not and never has been a "democracy" it is a republic.
Quote by 1nympholes
Lastly, and a fine point this is not a Democracy and never was it has always been a Representative Republic.
=== Not ALL LIVES MATTER until BLACK LIVES MATTER ===
Quote by noll
It's truly amazing how many Americans seem to think that democracy and republic are mutually exclusive. They're not and the US is both a democracy and a republic. It's not a direct or Athenian democracy but a representative democracy. A democracy still though.
(Representative) democracy is about how the government is formed. Republic is how the government is organized. These are two entirely different things.
Quote by 1nympholes
Noll if this thing we call government was truly a Representative Democracy then without restrictions the majority could override the interest of the minority at will. The United States Government run under a set of limits on the government called the Constitution. Maybe you have heard of it.
If people of my persuasion obtained absolute control of the government our first move would to require all Black Feathered Ducks be served as the entre at all Holiday Meals. That would be the basis of a representative form of government without restrictions or limitation on the governments authority.
This is a Republic with a Constitution to limit the authority of the government over the electorate.
If you would take a minute or two to read Article Four of the Constitution it makes it very clear that this government is a Republic!
=== Not ALL LIVES MATTER until BLACK LIVES MATTER ===
Quote by noll
It's truly amazing how many Americans seem to think that democracy and republic are mutually exclusive. They're not and the US is both a democracy and a republic. It's not a direct or Athenian democracy but a representative democracy. A democracy still though.
(Representative) democracy is about how the government is formed. Republic is how the government is organized. These are two entirely different things.
Quote by Mixedupkaren
Noll maybe it is a matter semantics but my rememberence of some of the writings of the founding fathers and the Federalist papers make me believe that the electoral college was designed to basically invalidate the possibility of a strictly popular vote. The idea and this was (before a two party system evolved) that no one candidate would accumulate a majority of electoral votes and the choice of President would always revert to the Conngress allowing them to choose the President. The idea being that a strict majority of votes would not be the deciding factor. In fact it was believed that regional interests would always be the biggest threat to governing the nation. My very limited knowledge of a Parlimentry form of government was a concern as much as a monarchy in that regard. But I am more than open to you showing me my error in judgement .
=== Not ALL LIVES MATTER until BLACK LIVES MATTER ===