[Election-Methods] Partisan Politics

[Juho]

Sorry for being off-line / busy with other things for a while.

On Apr 15, 2008, at 3:16 , Fred Gohlke wrote:

> re: "Maybe there is also a difference between maximizing the  
> consumption
> of goods, and organizing the current system in some new better way
> (maybe sometimes making it more stable and/or less waste producing)."
>
> Examining the economic effects of changing the method by which we  
> select
> those who represent us in our government would introduce considerable
> complexity to the discussion.  Even so, it seems likely that  
> finding and
> electing the best among us as our representatives would soon put an  
> end
> to the fake capitalism practiced in my country, where our laws
> increasingly foster the growth of financial and commercial monopolies.

I guess it is one of the "duties" of democratic systems to harness  
the "natural forces" in a way that makes them most useful for all.  
This is part of the journey from the laws of jungle to something  
better. And the front line keeps changing. Good rules, voting methods  
etc. are there waiting to be discovered and generally approved.

(I need to add here that in addition to fighting against the rules of  
jungle we need to fight against the growth of bureaucracy (and  
excessive control of the system) too. In the US set-up this seems to  
be particularly relevant due to the discussions on the required  
strength of Washington.)

> re: "One might try to make some steps e.g. on the war related aspects
> (wider than just concerning one of the wars) now when that topic is  
> hot."
>
> Prior to our most recent election, we had an enormous hullabaloo about
> the war.  As soon as the election was over and those who professed  
> their
> anti-war fervor were elected to public office ... presumably to
> implement the will of the people ... the topic disappeared from our
> political horizon.
>
> It is not wise to underestimate those who finance our political  
> parties.
>   They don't not act on principle.  They corrupt both parties with  
> equal
> facility.  Nothing will change until we change the method by which we
> select and elect those who represent us in our government.

I'm afraid you might be right again. But one must try. It is also  
true that during a war (well, at least in Iraq there is officially no  
more war) it is better to just work together and wait for the time  
after the war and then discuss what would be a good approach to the  
global conflicts. But of course things look different then, many  
things have been forgotten, and new topics are on the agenda, and new  
topics pushed in the public debates.

(Btw, in the US presidential elections it might be good to find some  
ways to reduce the spending a bit (=> better chances to all  
candidates, less dependences in the direction of the donators). One  
could also try to arrange some more serious discussions about the  
policies (maybe more frequent, with less preparation) rather than  
leaving it to a free style marketing campaign. Some rules or pre- 
election agreements would be needed to direct the campaigns. This  
however limits the campaigns a bit and is not necessarily approved in  
the US where the freedom to drive all business in the most efficient  
way is a strong value in itself. Now the campaigns at least seem to  
be a bit too much based on marketing skills and yellow press. Well,  
maybe I must also repeat the famous rule that the citizens will get  
as good government as they deserve => some citizen activity / better  
participation / better understanding needed if one wants to improve  
the level of the governments.)

Juho






		
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