NationStates Jolt Archive

Why would a nation made of wave upon wave of immigrants, of enormous physical size and climatic variety, of people who LOVE to fight and with a self-admittedly over developed sense of "rugged individuality" develop a two party political system..!?

My thoughts:

There is more diversity possible in a two party system than in any other multiple party system.

The two party system forces all points of view to choose one of two sides as their residence. This means that within either of the two parties, there is an absolute maximum number of possible viewpoints that must compete with each other.

In other words, it sets the maximum number of viewpoints into competition with each other within each of the two parties, because they must, at some point, actually come up with a decision that represents "them all" against the other side.

Americans are a practical, simple, "backward" people, who want the water carried by the water carrier.

It is the elected's job to come up with policies. It is the electorate's job to make a simple "yes or no" decision on those policies.

We Americans want the water carrier to carry the water so that the rest of us can carry on doing the important work of life.


Your opinons...?

you made about 0 sense

What the heck are you talking about?

Can you say incoherent?

He has a point, at least when he says Americans are of enormous size.

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to
trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule--and both
commonly succeed, and are right... The United States has never
developed an aristocracy really disinterested or an intelligentsia
really intelligent. Its history is simply a record of vacillations
between two gangs of frauds.

HL Mencken (sadly he was a libertarian, but nobody's perfect)

Thank you for your very very revealing responses.

Are you leftists..?

That would be my guess.

That IS the primary population of these forums.

You know,.. those with opinions provided by their surrogate mommies, who can't seem to figure out how to use the shift key, who seem so angry and confused all the time.

You know,.. THOSE people..!

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to
trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule--and both
commonly succeed, and are right... The United States has never
developed an aristocracy really disinterested or an intelligentsia
really intelligent. Its history is simply a record of vacillations
between two gangs of frauds.

HL Mencken (sadly he was a libertarian, but nobody's perfect)

Are you an anarchist, NG?

Thank you for your very very revealing responses.

Are you leftists..?

That would be my guess.

That IS the primary population of these forums.

You know,.. those with opinions provided by their surrogate mommies, who can't seem to figure out how to use the shift key, who seem so angry and confused all the time.

You know,.. THOSE people..!
ooh insults to follow contradictions, classic republicon tactic, i await the republican psychic ability!

There is more diversity possible in a two party system than in any other multiple party system.

The two party system forces all points of view to choose one of two sides as their residence.
brilliant diveristy there

[Chess Squares #8]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iakeokeo
Thank you for your very very revealing responses.

Are you leftists..?

That would be my guess.

That IS the primary population of these forums.

You know,.. those with opinions provided by their surrogate mommies, who can't seem to figure out how to use the shift key, who seem so angry and confused all the time.

You know,.. THOSE people..!


ooh insults to follow contradictions, classic republicon tactic, i await the republican psychic ability!


Quote:
There is more diversity possible in a two party system than in any other multiple party system.

The two party system forces all points of view to choose one of two sides as their residence.

brilliant diveristy there

So ARE you leftists,.. anyone,.. anyone,.. Bueller..!?

Are you afraid of being "outed" as a leftist..? Is "leftist" an insult to you..?

On the diversity question: If every individual has a viewpoint, and everyone wants their own viewpoint promoted, the two systems that pit the most viewpoints against one and other are:

1) Two Party: each viewpoint is pitted against approximately HALF of all viewpoints (within their party). Then the two parties battle it out.

2) Max Party: each viewpoint is it's own party, and is pitted against ALL other viewpoints in open battle.

The "Max Party" system is chaos. This is absolute democracy, which is unworkable.

The "Two party" system is accomplishable, and exposes the most individual viewpoint-to-viewpoint competition available.

Is that a little more clear to you..?

If not, what are you confused about..?

Well, I wouldn't say that a max party system is unworkable. It simply forces intelligence. People who are ignorant about issues, and candidates who try to hide from the issues (such as Bush and Kerry), are what prevents a "max party" system.

Are you an anarchist, NG?


Lord no, in fact i loathe libertarians because i consider *them* to be anarchists.

I just think mencken has a lovely point about how our country works.

Lord no, in fact i loathe libertarians because i consider *them* to be anarchists.

There's nothing anarchistic about them. They support capitalism, a strongly hierarchial and exploitive institution, nothing anarchist about that.

They (or at least Badnarik, when I asked him) support removing immigration laws, removing gun laws and removing taxes.

Libertarianism operates on the same fundemental assumption as punk rock anarachist-pacifism: that human beings will, in absence of an authoritive framework, work together and achieve good.

I consider libertarians to be unreconstructed punk-rock anarchists. Their suits and jobs dont fool me.

There's nothing anarchistic about them. They support capitalism, a strongly hierarchial and exploitive institution, nothing anarchist about that.

Anarchy is technically an extreme of Libertarianism, but unlike, say, Socialism and Liberalism or Fashism and Conservatism, Anarchists have a very different explaintion for their ideas. Its kinda weird.

Anyway, anyone who supports a two-party system doesn't realize that a country needs a few more options than the democratics (MODERATE and weak) or the republicans (Who don't represent half the people that vote for them!)

Why would a nation made of wave upon wave of immigrants, of enormous physical size and climatic variety, of people who LOVE to fight and with a self-admittedly over developed sense of "rugged individuality" develop a two party political system..!?

because a 'first past the post' electoral system nearly inevitably leads to a two party system wherever it is implemented, except where regional parties develop - and in that case there are almost certainly only two truly competitive parties in any particular district. this is purely the outcome of a particular set of voting tactics engendered by the very nature of elections where there can be only one winner per district.

http://www.janda.org/c24/Readings/Duverger/Duverger.htm

Thank you for your very very revealing responses.

Are you leftists..?

That would be my guess.

That IS the primary population of these forums.

You know,.. those with opinions provided by their surrogate mommies, who can't seem to figure out how to use the shift key, who seem so angry and confused all the time.

You know,.. THOSE people..!
If you want responses, you would do well not to insult those who don't understand your sheer brilliance :rolleyes:

You asked for opinions, and most of them happen to be comments on the coherence level of your posts. They are the opinions requested nonetheless.

-Jake

[Arribastan #16]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iakeokeo
Thank you for your very very revealing responses.

Are you leftists..?

That would be my guess.

That IS the primary population of these forums.

You know,.. those with opinions provided by their surrogate mommies, who can't seem to figure out how to use the shift key, who seem so angry and confused all the time.

You know,.. THOSE people..!


If you want responses, you would do well not to insult those who don't understand your sheer brilliance

You asked for opinions, and most of them happen to be comments on the coherence level of your posts. They are the opinions requested nonetheless.

Excellent point. Just as I can comment on what I like, they can comment on what they like.

Very good..! :)

Thanks for the insight.