On the other hand, partisans have a penchant for denigrating those who think differently, often without considering the salient parts of opposing points of view. They seek the power to impose their views on those who don't share them, while overlooking their own shortcomings. Communism and National Socialism showed these tendencies. 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 partisans gained control of government. In general, partisanship is healthy when it helps us give voice to our views. It is destructive when it achieves 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 biases on the public.
Partisanship is a vital part of society, provided it is always a voice and never a power. The danger to the American people is not in partisanship or political parties, it is in allowing them to control government.
Disenfranchising Non-Partisans
According to National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections[6], in 2004, which, at the time I did this research was the most recent presidential election year for which all data is available, 79% of the voting age population (VAP) was registered to vote and 55.3% of the VAP actually turned out to vote.
Using the numbers provided by Pew Research Center Publications[7] to get a very rough estimate of what this means in terms of democracy in the United States, 35% of registered voters in 2004 were Democrats, 33% were Republicans and 32% were Independents.
Thus, in the 2004 election, 55.3% of the voting age public actually voted, and the likely distribution of those voters was about 15.3% (79% * 55.3% * 35%) registered Democrats and 14.4% (79% * 55.3% * 33%) registered Republicans.
Since the Republicans 'won' the 2004 election, we can see that when the winners took office, 100% of the people were ruled by the party of 14.4% of the voters. Furthermore, since the actual political decisions of any party are made by a small portion of the party members (Michels' oligarchs), the result of partisan elections in the United States is disgracefully undemocratic.
(to be continued)
[1] J. Mansbridge, A "Selection Model" of Political
Representation
click here
[2] Jean Marie Makang, Plato: The Failure of Democracy
click here
[3] U. S. Constitution, Article I, Section 4.
[4] John F. Bibby, Political Parties In The United States
click here
[5] Robert Michels, Political Parties
click here
[6] http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html
[7] pewresearch.org/pubs/773/fewer-voters-identify-as-republicans
The danger in Communism and National Socialism was not that they attracted partisan support; it was that the partisans gained control of government. In general, partisanship is healthy when it helps us give voice to our views. It is destructive when it achieves 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 biases on the public.
Partisanship is a vital part of society, provided it is always a voice and never a power. The danger to the American people is not in partisanship or political parties, it is in allowing them to control government.
Disenfranchising Non-Partisans
According to National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections[6], in 2004, which, at the time I did this research was the most recent presidential election year for which all data is available, 79% of the voting age population (VAP) was registered to vote and 55.3% of the VAP actually turned out to vote.
Thus, in the 2004 election, 55.3% of the voting age public actually voted, and the likely distribution of those voters was about 15.3% (79% * 55.3% * 35%) registered Democrats and 14.4% (79% * 55.3% * 33%) registered Republicans.
Since the Republicans 'won' the 2004 election, we can see that when the winners took office, 100% of the people were ruled by the party of 14.4% of the voters. Furthermore, since the actual political decisions of any party are made by a small portion of the party members (Michels' oligarchs), the result of partisan elections in the United States is disgracefully undemocratic.
(to be continued)
[1] J. Mansbridge, A "Selection Model" of Political
Representation
click here
[2] Jean Marie Makang, Plato: The Failure of Democracy
click here
[3] U. S. Constitution, Article I, Section 4.
[4] John F. Bibby, Political Parties In The United States
click here
[5] Robert Michels, Political Parties
click here
[6] http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html
[7] pewresearch.org/pubs/773/fewer-voters-identify-as-republicans
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