[EM] Has this idea been considered?

[Fred Gohlke]

There is another perspective that better explains why party-based 
systems create a demand for re-distribution.

Political parties have two compelling needs:  Money to finance their 
operations and voters to put their candidates in office.  Their ability 
to generate these vital resources comes from their power to legislate ...


* Money to finance their campaigns

The financiers who provide the money required to conduct party 
operations demand legislation that gives them an advantage.  They supply 
enough money to enough parties to ensure their agenda is met.

The Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2009, or H.R. 2428, is an 
example of the result:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.2428: Broadband Conduit 
Deployment Act

This bill requires that highway and rail projects funded by the 
government also lay conduit capable of carrying fiber optic cables. 
There is no provision in the bill for the communications industry to 
bear any portion of the costs imposed by the act, including the 
continuing cost of maintenance.  Instead, our debt-ridden governments - 
and our people - are saddled with costs that should be borne by the 
communications industry.  This is but one of a multitude of such laws, 
purchased with political 'contributions'.


* Voters to put them in office.

Political parties propose and oversee the enactment of laws, couched in 
terms of humanity, that use public funds to attract voters.  These laws 
do not result from public outcry, they are invented by politicians to 
attract voters.

When the definition of public issues and the selection of candidates for 
public office is controlled by parties, it is not surprising that 
offering largess attracts votes.  Greece and Ireland and Portugal and 
Italy stand in stark evidence of the success of this strategm - and its 
dire consequences.


* Summary

Partisanship is natural and healthy.  Unfortunately, it is a 
double-edged sword.  It is an essential part of the evolution of 
society, but it is also the root of the evils of party politics.

Partisanship is a critical element in democratic government,  The ebb 
and flow of public attitudes, as they change with time, must be captured 
and integrated into public policy.  That is best done by the dynamic 
formation of interest groups.  However, the groups, themselves, are not 
important - and the ideas they espouse are not sacrosanct.

The challenge of democracy is to ensure the various perspectives are 
heard, examined, and honed to serve the common interest.  The only valid 
purpose for discussing Electoral Methods is to seek ways to accomplish 
this goal.

There are attempts to improve government going on in several places in 
the world.  We have an obligation to describe the obstacles we've 
encountered with our systems, even when those difficulties flow from the 
defects of partisan politics, so those struggling with embryonic systems 
can avoid them.

Fred Gohlke