The Party System has Failed
"I know, let's Rebuild the Party!"
I should have done this a long time ago.
The Party system has failed.
And so has their Democracy.
And it’s not even the first time. Our short history has several instances of the nation just barely scraping through existential crises.
Yet, at each failure, we insist on putting things back the way they were, returning to how it was before, resetting to the old same new thing.
Why?
“This time is different. This time, We the People won’t let it happen again.”
Insanity?
I invite you to consider what an alternate mechanism for staffing the offices of our public trusts would look like.
Want to keep going like this?
I have nothing against those who have chosen to repeat history by “rebuilding” or the[ir] party. Do it. It’s a short-term stop-gap solution, much needed in the current crisis. Just understand that what you build will be subverted and, by the time your great grandchildren come of age, will again be used against them.
If you survive until then, you’ll say, “I can’t believe this has happened to our country! It was so much nicer when I was growing up! Everyone needs to get involved, get out the vote, pass out fliers, attend these protests, rallies, and do all the things I did back in my day when I was saving the republic. Why aren’t there any young people here? Don’t they get it? It’s a republic if you can keep it!”
“But ggmaw, why would we do the same thing if what you did didn’t end up working out?”
The Party’s Achilles Spines
Organizational structure.
Incentives.
Value system.
Upon mass discovery of asbestos’ horrible side effects, it stopped being used, even though it’s a miracle building material with many uses.
While parties have always been an indispensable component for past crises, the way that the corporations’ structures are set up, the incentives at all levels, and the mantras and dogma simply make the party unsuitable for steady-state operation. George Washington told us this in his farewell address.
When the existential crises arrives, the party infrastructure is taken over by sheer force against the will and desire of party leadership, who, finding themselves in a pincer position—one jaw being the movement’s lead actor, the other being the membership who believe you support the movement— capitulate and get on board, acting as if they had been from the start.
Each Party has now enough history to claim the title “Party of the People.”
We're the Party of Lincoln, who freed the slaves!
We're the Party of JFK, the man of peace!
We’re the Party of FDR, the worker’s champion, 4-time winner!
We’re the Party of McKinley, the general Welfare champion!
And so on.
Funny story time.
Shortly after the assassination event at Butler, a man walks by my Trump Agenda 47 table at Fort Mason’s farmers market exclaiming, "I wish that guy hadn’t missed!”
I retort, “Ok, interesting that you wish death upon another. But let me ask you this, what about JFK’s shooter?”
Must have been a dumb question. “Oh, I LOVED JFK. I definitely wished that guy had missed. For sure. World would have been a much better place.”
I say, “When I look at the principles and policies of JFK and Trump, I see the same intent, the same agenda, the same reason certain people would want them dead…”
If the guy was shocked, he played it off cool.
Now we get to the funny part:
In 10-15 minutes of conversation we found that we agreed on about 80% of topics discussed. Economics, central banking, corporatism, foreign relations, the purpose of government…
So where is the division?
Who drew the line?
"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism."
—George Washington
One Party cannot exist without the other.
They are co-dependent.
Despite Washington’s caution, the Party today has a critical influence over who is selected, at all levels. Even saviors of the republic cannot win without Party support. They're big, have access to lots of money, throw fun social events, and can mobilize armies (“volunteers”) all by reference to brand name, ideology, and beating the other guys, who of course, are trying to destroy our way of life.
The Party maintains its control over the population by constantly needing an enemy
—George Orwell, 1984 [you probably already knew that lol]
In my campaign for assembly, I had many conversations with voters that went along these lines:
Voter: "Are you Democrat or Republican?"
Me: "Republican"
"Nice! I'm voting for you!"
"Why? You just met me, don't know anything about me, don't know my platform, or what I want to accomplish if elected."
"Any Republican is better than a Democrat. I'm tired of them."
"That's part of the problem that caused this mess. Research every question on your ballot."
Vote Red, Better than Dead!
Vote Blue, no Matter Who!
Surefire formulas for abject failure. Petty tyrants and pro grifters have no problem changing their registration to the majority party in your area and speaking its language to reap the benefits the mind-controlled vote.
Honestly, most people who vote should not be voting. Not because they’re dumb; simply because they don’t have time, nor interest, nor desire to research the questions, and/or simply allow a special-interest group that they trust— whether it be media, party voter guide, favorite politician’s endorsement, letter next to name, the candidate statement— to craft their decision for them.
There are people who do deep research. They might enjoy it as a puzzle, to maintain their conscience, or simply because they see it as their civic duty. But they are a small minority, always overwhelmed by the low-information mob.
And everyone gets stepped on.
Democracy works great when everybody involved researches the questions at hand to such extent that a decision arrives in the mind. In general, especially during good times, i.e., “steady state,” the majority can be led to make a poor decision by trusted institutions for the self-evident fact that a majority of any population is not specialized nor involved in political statecraft.
Too many people have been taught to see voting as a duty, and they want to be good responsible citizens. But the special interests that promote this idea fail to convey the amount of work it takes to do that. They just want you to register real quick and remember to vote YES on PROP 47 for SAFER NEIGHBORHOODS.
Safer, like this:
I wouldn’t be surprised if the shop owner voted yes on 47.
I don’t know, I might have. I was once a low information voter.
So, What's the solution?
Won't any institution eventually become corrupted and fall apart?
Does not absolute power corrupt absolutely?
Sure, that may all be true. But that does not prevent us from invention.
The United States of America was a new invention that made People, by law (aka on paper), the ultimate source of political power.
A new invention is needed to make real that paper proclamation.
A new type of organization.
A new institution.
A new type of machinery.
Contrary to the call of Democracy, which is increasing voter registration, and the sub-call of the party, which is to grow the cult, this machinery should enable the People to establish good government with minimal participation from the population.
An analogy:
When 95% of people were engaged in agriculture, earth’s population was small compared to today, likely in the tens or hundreds of millions. The invention of machineries that increased agricultural output per involved person allowed the population to grow. Today, with 26% of people engaged in agriculture, our population is tremendously higher.1
Another analogy:
1.6 billion cars worldwide. How many of those that drive or own those cars know how to rebuild an engine? It’s hard to get an exact percentage, but you can anecdotally approximate by filling in this equation:
\(\frac{\text{People you know who can rebuild an engine}}{\text{People you know who drive}} \bullet 100\)When there were 10 cars worldwide, I’d bet 90% of drivers could rebuild an engine.2
When government is working well, performing as advertised, the number of people participating in its maintenance will be small. Whether men can participate in women’s sports will not be an issue of national concern. Whether the school’s earthquake retrofitting should be done will not be a question on the public ballot. People won’t need to drop what they’re doing to help someone get elected to keep the nation from collapse.
New machinery, just as our Constitutional republic was new machinery 250 years ago. To borrow from this post:
We the People [of the United States]
need a well-functioning political system so we can:
1) all get along, [form a more perfect Union]
2) keep life’s playing field fair for everyone, [establish Justice]
3) keep our communities safe and sustainable, [insure domestic Tranquility]
4) protect our land from global bullies, [provide for the common defence]
5) allow people to earn a living wage to cover food, housing, transportation, & healthcare, and [promote the general Welfare]
6) enjoy living in freedom to pursue “the good life” for ourselves and our kids.
[secure the blessings of Liberty]
[do ordain and establish this Constitution for such well-functioning political system].
New machinery.
If you feel the same way, have identified the irreparable failure modes of the Party system, and want to partake in building new machinery:
-Arjun
Percentage varies by country, with industrialized nations being the lowest.
Source: https://www.fao.org/statistics/highlights-archive/highlights-detail/employment-indicators-2000-2022-%28september-2024-update%29/en?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Source: https://hedgescompany.com/blog/2021/06/how-many-cars-are-there-in-the-world/#:~:text=If%20you%20want%20to%20know,broken%20down%20by%20world%20region.&text=How%20many%20vehicles%20are%20there,number%20of%20vehicles%20per%20capita?
We must disavow all group labels. This is how they control us.
We are one. A labeless political candidate running on pure policy is the way