[EM] Conceiving a Democratic Electoral Process

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Morning, Peter

re: "Being a member of the Czech Green party myself, I think that
      political parties are not inherently 'evil'."

You're right - but it's not a simple proposition.

Partisanship is a vital part of society.  It is the prime engine of 
progress.  New or 'different' ideas constantly bubble up from the 
people.  If they have value, they attract adherents and gradually 
influence the evolution of society.  Not only is there nothing evil in 
that, it is essential for the health of the community.

The problems arise when the parties seek the power to impose their views 
on those who don't share them.  The dynamics were described by Robert 
Michels in 'Political Parties'.  Although written 100 years ago, 
Michels' work is still worth reading.  Here's a link to it.

http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/michels/polipart.pdf

These two citations from Michels' work give a little insight into why 
political parties become undemocratic:

   "Organization implies the tendency to oligarchy. In every
    organization, whether it be a political party, a professional
    union, or any other association of the kind, the aristocratic
    tendency manifests itself very clearly. The mechanism of the
    organization, while conferring a solidity of structure,
    induces serious changes in the organized mass, completely
    inverting the respective position of the leaders and the led.
    As a result of organization, every party or professional union
    becomes divided into a minority of directors and a majority of
    directed."

and

   "It is indisputable that the oligarchical and bureaucratic
    tendency of party organization is a matter of technical and
    practical necessity. It is the inevitable product of the very
    principle of organization ... Its only result is, in fact, to
    strengthen the rule of the leaders, for it serves to conceal
    from the mass a danger which really threatens democracy."

The extremes attainable by political parties was demonstrated by 
Communism and National Socialism.  Both had features that attracted 
broad public support throughout a national expanse and both degenerated 
into destructive forces because their partisans gained control of their 
governments.  The danger in Communism and National Socialism was not 
that they attracted partisan support, it was that the parties gained 
control of the government.

In general, parties are healthy when they help us give voice to our 
views.  They are destructive when they achieve power.  All ideologies, 
whether of the right or the left, differ from Communism and National 
Socialism only in the extent to which their partisans are able to impose 
their views on the public.

Partisanship is a vital part of society - provided it is always a voice 
and never a power.  The danger is not in partisanship, it is in allowing 
partisans to control government.  The challenge for us is to find a 
practical way to encourage the formation of all groups that bring us 
fresh ideas to the fore while making sure that none of them can control 
the government.

That's why we're trying to conceive a democratic electoral method.

(I'll continue to delve into your post as quickly as I can.)

Fred