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Well, this isn’t going to be a barn-burner.  But despite the academic nature and rather esoteric specifics, I believe the topic is an important one and that is why I am writing it.  It is rather long and somewhat (ok, a lot) dry; and for that I apologize in advance.  My desire, however is that you read it, even in installments because, even if you disagree with my pontifications and assertions, the meat of the topic is extremely important and I think the discussion at the end will be beneficial.

 

I began down the road that led to this topic while thinking of the political landscape this year.  It reminds me of a movie scene from one of the all time great movies.  “…dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.”  That’s right, Ghostbusters, where each of the Ghostbusters - Venkman, Egon, Ray, Winston Zeddemore - are describing all the signs pointing to the end of the world.

 

Ron Paul (the reported most “right wing” of the Republicans) supporters have turned out in considerable numbers for Obama now that Paul is done.  With the exception of taxes (and even then, only a little), McCain’s platform is virtually identical to former President Clinton’s while Hillary and Obama decry him as a dyed in the wool “neo-con.”  Obama’s mantra, in fact his whole campaign persona, is “change,” while he voted most often with the old vanguard “liberal democrats” like Kennedy, Pelosi and Reed.  Both Hillary and McCain voted often with the other party yet they have been branded as “the establishment, partisan” candidates.  I could go on forever pointing out instances like this where the label doesn’t describe the candidate.

 

Why is it that, this year especially, left is right, up is down, forward is back, “dogs and cats living together…” you know the rest?

 

In the past, I often described the spectrum of political ideology as a yard stick.  At one end of the spectrum, taking the limited government belief of the right to its extreme was Anarchy, the absence of government and law.  On the other end, taking government intervention to its extreme was totalitarian Marxism or communism.  As with so many items, this year has rearranged my thinking. 

 

How is it possible that when the person considered most “right-wing” (Paul) didn’t make the cut in the primary, many of his supporters found their closest ideological “second choice” in the candidate with the most consistent “left-wing” (Obama) voting record?

 

I finally figured it out.  The political spectrum is a circle.  What I neglected in my yard-stick assessment is that there is one step further left than communism.  In utopian Marxist theory there is no need for government because, of their own free will, all members of a society altruistically pool everything into the community and live off that.  With the government gone, it only takes one person trying to move ahead in life and reap the fruits of their labor, and, without government to constrain, that society quickly moves to anarchy.

 

But this theory was much shorter lived.  About half a day.  Fascism was the monkey wrench.  It is totalitarian but to be to the described as on the “right” of the political spectrum.  And then, what about “classic liberals” that believe in small, less-intrusive government?  And how about only the most “left wing” and “right wing” individuals being opposed to the was in Iraq from the beginning.  Maybe the political spectrum is more like a mobius.  M.C. Escher’s work titled Swan.  (I am going to try to attach it but if not, look it up)  There is no beginning or end (like a circle) but the middle is intermeshed and twisted, incorporating parts of each side.  Maybe that is where we are politically, we are in the messy, twisted, intermeshing part in the middle?

But Barr shares many beliefs to Paul just like McCain has shares many beliefs with Hillary even though they are in different parties but Paul and McCain, who have virtually opposite platforms are in the same party?!?  How about Nader and Barr’s ideas about money in politics being so similar in practice (even though their reasoning is very different).  Maybe the spectrum looks more like Escher’s work titled Knots.

By this point, my head started to hurt.  Really, there is no rhyme or reason in the political landscape today.  I had to go back to the basics.

 

And it was looking at the basics that I discovered the problem.  Words like “conservative,” “liberal,” “democrat,” “republican,” “neo-con,” “neo-liberal,” “socialist,” “fascist,” “right-wing,” “left-wing,” and even “libertarian” now are being used to describe people who don’t follow any of the tenets of the label.  Obviously we have come to a point in our political dialogue where words no longer have meaning.  The terms we hear thrown around on the daily news shows, on blogs, on talk radio, across the media are being used to convey emotion rather than meaning.  You all have heard it.  "You neo-con fascist!"  "You bleeding heart socialist liberal!"  "Libertarians are anarchists!"

 

I find it mildly interesting that totalitarian regimes have changed the meaning of words throughout history to assist in enslaving the people while we are doing it to ourselves.  That is a topic for another time, however.

 

Before I go any further, I have to define my terms.  For this I will use the Encarta dictionary (as a scholarly reference) and Wikipedia (as a reference which better conveys popular meaning and popular history).  All of this is word for word; I didn’t make any of it up.

 

Conservative:  1. in favor of preserving the status quo and traditional values and customs, and against abrupt change (adj.).  2. cautiously moderate and therefore often less than the final outcome (adj.).  3. conventional or restrained in style and avoiding showiness (adj.).  4. a supporter or advocate of traditional ideas and behavior (noun).

WIKIPEDIA: Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favor tradition and gradual change, where tradition refers to religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs.  Some conservatives seek to preserve the status quo or to reform society slowly, while others seek to return to the values of an earlier time, the status quo ante.  Conservatism in the United States comprises a constellation of political ideologies including fiscal conservatism, free market or economic liberalism, social conservatism, libertarianism, bioconservatism and religious conservatism, as well as support for a strong military, small government, and states' rights.

Fiscal conservatism is the economic philosophy of prudence in government spending and debt.  In other words, a government does not have the right to run up large debts and then throw the burden on the taxpayer; the taxpayers' right not to be taxed oppressively takes precedence even over paying back debts a government may have imprudently undertaken.

 

Right-wing:  1. politics conservative in conviction or temperament (adj.).

 

Liberal:  1. tolerant of different views and standards of behavior in others (adj.).  2. favoring gradual reform, especially political reforms that extend democracy, distribute wealth more evenly, and protect the personal freedom of the individual (adj.).  3. freely giving money, time, or some other asset (adj.).  4. not limited to the literal meaning in translation or interpretation (adj.).  5. concerned with general cultural matters and broadening of the mind rather than professional or technical study (adj.). 

WIKIPEDIA:  Liberalism refers to a broad array of related ideas and theories of government that consider individual liberty to be the most important political goal.  Different forms of liberalism may propose very different policies, but they are generally united by their support for a number of principles, including extensive freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market or mixed economy, and a transparent system of government. All liberals — as well as some adherents of other political ideologies — support some variant of the form of government known as liberal democracy, with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law. 

Classical liberalism (economic liberals) advocates laissez-faire capitalism, meaning the removal of legal barriers to trade and cessation of government-bestowed privilege such as subsidy and monopoly. Economic liberals want little or no government regulation of the market. Some economic liberals would accept government restrictions of monopolies and cartels, others argue that monopolies and cartels are caused by state action. Economic liberalism holds that the value of goods and services should be set by the unfettered choices of individuals, that is, of market forces.  Economic liberalism accepts the economic inequality that arises from unequal bargaining positions as being the natural result of competition, so long as no coercion is used.

Neoliberalism refers to a program of reducing trade barriers and internal market restrictions, while using government power to enforce opening of foreign markets. Neoliberalism accepts a certain degree of government involvement in the domestic economy, particularly a central bank with the power to print fiat money.  Some also classify Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and even Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder as being neo-liberal.

 

Left-wing:  1. a subgroup of a larger organization that is more liberal or radical than the rest of the organization (adj.)

 

 

Republican:  1. somebody who believes that the best government is one in which supreme power is vested in an electorate (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  The Republican Party was created in 1854 in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act that would have allowed the expansion of slavery into Kansas. Besides opposition to slavery, the new party put forward a progressive vision of modernizing the United States—emphasizing higher education, banking, railroads, industry and cities, while promising free homesteads to farmers.  The GOP supported big business generally, high tariffs, and generous pensions for Union veterans.  The party controlled the presidency throughout the 1920s, running on a platform of opposition to the League of Nations, high tariffs, and promotion of business interests.  The pro-business policies of the decade seemed to produce an unprecedented prosperity—until the Wall Street Crash of 1929 heralded the Great Depression.  Conservative Democrats, mostly from the South, joined with Republicans led by Senator Robert A. Taft to create the conservative coalition, which dominated domestic issues in Congress until 1964.  Since then, the Republican Party is defined by social conservatism, a hawkish foreign policy to defeat terrorism and promote global democracy, a more robust executive branch, tax cuts, and deregulation and subsidizing of industry.

 

 

Democrat:  1. somebody who believes in or supports democracy or the democratic system of government (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  The Democratic Party evolved from Anti-Federalist factions in the early 1790s into the Democratic-Republican Party. The party favored states' rights and strict adherence to the Constitution; it opposed a national bank and wealthy, moneyed interests.  In 1884, the party represented mercantile, banking and railroad interests, opposed imperialism and overseas expansion, fought for the gold standard, opposed bimetallism, and crusaded against corruption, high taxes, and tariffs.  In 1932, New Deal liberalism meant the promotion of social welfare, labor unions, civil rights, and regulation of business. The opponents, who stressed long-term growth, support for business, and low taxes, started calling themselves "conservatives."  After World War II, African Americans, who traditionally supported the Republican Party, began supporting Democrats following the ascent of the Franklin Roosevelt administration, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights movement. The Democratic Party's main base of support shifted to the Northeast, marking a dramatic reversal of history.

 

Capitalism:  1. an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Capitalism is an economic system in which all property is owned by either private individuals or a corporation.  Capitalism has been dominant in the Western world since the end of feudalism and provided the main, but not exclusive, means of industrialization throughout much of the world.  Some feel that the term "mixed economies" more precisely describes most contemporary economies.  In the period following the global depression of the 1930s, the state played an increasingly prominent role in the capitalistic system throughout much of the world. In 1929, for example, total U.S. government expenditures (federal, state, and local) amounted to less than one-tenth of GNP; from the 1970s they amounted to around one-third{they are at least that high now}. Similar increases were seen in all industrialized capitalist economies, some of which, such as France, have reached even higher ratios of government expenditures to GNP than the United States. These economies have since been widely described as "mixed economies."

 

Socialism:  1. a political theory or system in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by the people and operated according to equity and fairness rather than market principles (noun).  2. a political movement based on principles of socialism, typically advocating an end to private property and to the exploitation of workers (noun).  3. in Marxist theory, the stage after the proletarian revolution when a society is changing from capitalism to communism, marked by pay distributed according to work done rather than need (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  The term socialism is used to refer to an economic system characterized by state ownership of the means of production and distribution. In the Soviet Union, state ownership of productive property was combined with central planning. Down to the workplace level, Soviet economic planners decided what goods and services were to be produced, how they were to be produced, in what quantities, and at what prices they were to be sold. [1] Since the distribution of wealth is controlled as a whole, and not individually, socialism has been identified with communism.  Since the 19th century, socialism has coalesced into several movements with differing and sometimes conflicting ideas, such as those focused on reform and revolution. Some revolutionary socialists, influenced by the Soviet model of economic development, have championed complete nationalization (state ownership) of the means of production. Reformist socialists, on the other hand, have proposed selective nationalization of key industries within the framework of mixed economies.  In western Europe, particularly in the period after World War II, many socialist parties in government implemented what became known as mixed economies.  These governments nationalised major and economically vital industries while permitting a free market to continue in the rest. These were most often monopolistic or infrastructural industries like mail, railways, power and other utilities. In some instances a number of small, competing and often relatively poorly financed companies in the same sector were nationalised to form one government monopoly for the purpose of competent management or competing on the world market.

 

For Anonymous – whoever you are.  You will see why I originally omitted it. 

 

Marxism:  1. the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies.  2. political ideology based on the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

WIKIPEDIA:  Marxism is correctly but not exhaustively described as a variety of Socialism.  Marxism is the political philosophy and practice of a theoretical-practical framework based on the analysis of "the conflicts between the powerful and the subjugated".  While there are many theoretical and practical differences among the various forms of Marxism, most forms of Marxism share:  1. a belief that capitalism is based on the exploitation of workers by the owners of capital  2. a belief that people's consciousness of the conditions of their lives reflects the dominant ideology which is in turn shaped by material conditions and relations of production  3. an understanding of class in terms of differing relations of production, and as a particular position within such relations  4. an understanding of material conditions and social relations as historically malleable  5. a view of history according to which class struggle, the evolving conflict between classes with opposing interests, structures each historical period and drives historical change  6. a belief that this dialectical historical process will ultimately result in a replacement of the current class structure of society with a system that manages society for the good of all, resulting in the dissolution of the class structure and its support (more often than not including the nation state). 

 

Fascism:  1. any movement, ideology, or attitude that favors dictatorial government, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Fascism is a government, faction, movement, or political philosophy that raises nationalism, and frequently race, above the individual and is characterized by a centralized autocratic state governed by a dictatorial head, stringent organization of the economy and society, and aggressive repression of opposition.  Various scholars attribute different characteristics to fascism, but the following elements are usually seen as its integral parts: patriotism, nationalism, statism, militarism, totalitarianism, anti-communism, economic planning (including corporatism and autarky), populism, collectivism, autocracy and anti-liberalism (i.e., opposition to political and economic liberalism).  In contemporary political discourse, the term fascist is often used by adherents of some ideologies as a pejorative description of their opponents.  According to most scholars of fascism, there are both left and right influences on fascism as a social movement, and fascism, especially once in power, has historically attacked communism, conservatism and parliamentary liberalism, attracting support primarily from the "far right" or "extreme right."  Mussolini defined fascism as being a collectivistic ideology in opposition to socialism, classical liberalism, democracy and individualism.  Some have argued that the term fascist has become hopelessly vague over the years and that it has become little more than a pejorative epithet.  Before WWII, fascists promoted their ideology as a "third way" between capitalism and Marxian socialism.  Fascist governments nationalized some key industries, managed their currencies and made some massive state investments. They also introduced price controls, wage controls and other types of economic planning measures. Fascist governments instituted state-regulated allocation of resources, especially in the financial and raw materials sectors.  Fascist economics "foreshadowed most of the fundamental features of the economic system of Western European countries today: the radical extension of government control over the economy without a wholesale expropriation of the capitalists but with a good dose of nationalisation, price control, incomes policy, managed currency, massive state investment, attempts at overall planning; providing a model of economic planning for social democracy.

 

Communism:  1. the Marxist-Leninist version of a classless society in which capitalism is overthrown by a working-class revolution that gives ownership and control of wealth and property to the state (noun).  2. any system of government in which a single, usually totalitarian, party holds power, and the state controls the economy (noun).  3. the political theory or system in which all property and wealth is owned in a classless society by all the members of that society (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Communism is a socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of a classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production. It is usually considered to be a branch of socialism.  Communism states that the only way to solve these problems would be for the working class, or proletariat, to replace the wealthy bourgeoisie, which is currently the ruling class, in order to establish a peaceful, free society, without classes, or government.

 

Nationalism:  1. the desire to achieve political independence, especially by a country under foreign control or by a people with a separate identity and culture but no state of their own (noun).  2. proud loyalty and devotion to a nation (noun).  3. excessive or fanatical devotion to a nation and its interests, often associated with a belief that one country is superior to all others (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Nationalism is a term referring to a doctrine or political movement that holds that a nation, usually defined in terms of ethnicity or culture, has the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community based on a shared history and common destiny.  Historians use the term nationalism to refer to this historical transition and to the emergence and predominance of nationalist ideology. Nationalism is closely associated with patriotism.  Civic nationalism (or civil nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from the active participation of its citizenry, from the degree to which it represents the "will of the people".  Liberal nationalism is a kind of nationalism defended recently by political philosophers who believe that there can be a non-xenophobic form of nationalism compatible with liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights. Ernest Renan and John Stuart Mill are often thought to be early liberal nationalists. Liberal nationalists often defend the value of national identity by saying that individuals need a national identity in order to lead meaningful, autonomous lives and that liberal democratic polities need national identity in order to function properly. 

 

Federalism:  1. a political system in which several states or regions defer some powers, e.g. in foreign affairs, to a central government while retaining a limited measure of self-government (noun). 

WIKIPEDIA:  Federalism is the system in which the power to govern is shared between the national and state governments, creating what is often called a federation. Proponents are often called federalists.  Advocates of a weaker federal government and stronger state government are those that generally favor confederation, often related to "anti-federalists".  "Dual federalism" holds that the federal government and the state governments are co-equals, each sovereign. In this theory, parts of the Constitution are interpreted very narrowly, such as the Tenth Amendment, the Supremacy Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Commerce Clause. In this narrow interpretation, the federal government has jurisdiction only if the Constitution clearly grants such. In this case, there is a very large group of powers belonging to the states, and the federal government is limited to only those powers explicitly listed in the Constitution.  The Republican Party, the opposition to the Federalist Party, emphasized the fear that a strong national government was a threat to the liberties of the people.  The Great Depression marked an abrupt end to Dual Federalism and a dramatic shift to a strong national government. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies reached into the lives of U.S. citizens like no other federal measure had, yet popular opinion favored these programs. The national government was forced to cooperate with all levels of government to implement the New Deal policies; local government earned an equal standing with the other layers, as the federal government relied on political machines at a city level to bypass state legislatures.  New Federalism is characterized by a gradual return of power to the states.  The modern federalist movement is concerned far more with expansive interpretations of the Commerce Clause, as in the areas of medical marijuana, partial birth abortion, gun possession, federal police powers, or agriculture.

 

 

Protectionism:  1. the system of imposing duties on imports into a country in order to protect domestic industries (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between nations, through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and to prevent foreign take-over of national companies.  Protectionism can be described as the economic means to achieve the political goal of an independent nation.  The fledgling Republican Party led by Abraham Lincoln, strongly opposed free trade.  In response the Democratic Party under Franklin D. Roosevelt resorted to Hamilton's earlier formula of Reciprocity with moderate tariffs.  Protectionists fault the free trade model as being reverse protectionism in disguise, that of using tax policy to protect foreign manufacturers from domestic competition.

 

Anarchism:  1. an ideology that rejects the need for a system of government in society and proposes its abolition (noun).  2. behavior intended to overthrow or weaken a society's formal system of government (noun).  3. resistance to all forms of authority or control (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Anarchism is a political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which reject compulsory government (the state) and support its elimination, often due to a wider rejection of involuntary or permanent authority.  Anarchist schools of thought differ fundamentally, supporting anything from extreme individualism to complete collectivism.  Godwin, a philosophical anarchist, opposed revolutionary action and saw a minimal state as a present "necessary evil" that would become increasingly irrelevant and powerless by the gradual spread of knowledge. Godwin advocated extreme individualism, proposing that all cooperation in labor be eliminated. Godwin felt discrimination on any grounds besides ability was intolerable.  Unlike mutualists, collectivist anarchists oppose all private ownership of the means of production, instead advocating that ownership be collectivized.  Anarcho-capitalists distinguish between free market capitalism – peaceful voluntary exchange – from "state capitalism" which Murray Rothbard defined as a collusive partnership between big business and government that uses coercion to subvert the free market.

 

Totalitarianism:  1. relating to or operating a centralized government system in which a single party without opposition rules over political, economic, social, and cultural life (adj.).

WIKIPEDIA:  Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe political systems where a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life. The term is usually applied to Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany or hard-line communist regimes, such as Stalinist Russia, Democratic Kampuchea or North Korea. Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of an official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that controls the state, personality cults, central state-controlled economy, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror tactics.  Totalitarian regimes attempt to "atomize" society and destroy all independent nonpolitical institutions.  Leading Soviet communist Nikolai Bukharin observed that the political methods of fascism were "a complete applications of Bolshevik tactics, and especially those of Russian Bolshevism.”

 

Authoritarianism:  1. favoring strict rules and established authority.  2. belonging to or believing in a political system in which obedience to the ruling person or group is strongly enforced.

WIKIPEDIA:  Authoritarianism describes a form of social control characterized by strict obedience to the authority of a state or organization, often maintaining and enforcing control through the use of oppressive measure.  Usually, an authoritarian government is undemocratic and has the power to govern without consent of those being governed. 

 

Libertarianism:  1. somebody who believes in the doctrine of free will (noun).  2. somebody who believes in the principle that people should have complete freedom of thought and action (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Libertarianism is a label used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual liberty and minimize the role of the state. Libertarian is an antonym of authoritarian.  As liberalism began to mean a more pro-state viewpoint, those who held to the pro-liberty views of the Enlightenment began to call themselves "classical liberals." To make things more confusing, others began to call themselves "conservatives" to refer to conserving traditions of liberty, especially in written constitutions.  Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism inspired a new interest in ideas of liberty and influenced modern libertarianism.  The central tenet of libertarianism is the principle of liberty, namely individual liberty. To libertarians, an individual human being is sovereign over his/her body, extending to life, liberty and property.  In democracies, they consider compromise of these individual rights by political action to be tyranny of the majority, a term first coined by Alexis de Tocqueville, and made famous by John Stuart Mill, which emphasizes the threat of the majority to impose majority norms on minorities, and violating their rights in the process.  But most libertarians would argue that representative majority rule democracy largely has become controlled by special interest groups who represent a minority, leading to a 'tyranny of the minority' against the real numerical majority. Libertarians are egalitarians and believe all people are created equal. People are seen by libertarians as individuals and not representatives of their particular racial, religious or political groups.  Libertarians strongly oppose government infringement of civil liberties such as restrictions on free expression (e.g., speech, press, or religious belief or practice), prohibitions on voluntary association, or encroachments on persons or property.  Libertarians also oppose any laws restricting personal or consensual behaviour, as well as laws against victimless crimes.  Many describe libertarians as being "conservative" on economic issues and "liberal" on social issues, so they can find allies in both of the two main parties while remaining distinct from both, especially on the use of state power to solve perceived problems, and constitutional compliance.  Libertarians have tended to unite with constitutionalists in calling for strict construction of the U.S. Constitution, which they expect would vastly reduce the size and intrusiveness of government.

 

Oligarchism:  1. A small group of people who together govern a nation or control an organization, often for their own purposes (noun).  2.  Government control by a small group of people (noun).

WIKIPEDIA:  Oligarchy is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military powers). The word oligarchy is translated into "rule by few."  Compare with autocracy (rule by one person) and democracy (rule by the majority).  The concept of an "oligarchic democracy" is one which some scholars attribute to Ancient Rome and the United States.  Some authors believe that any political system eventually evolves into an oligarchy. This theory is called the "iron law of oligarchy."  According to this school of thought, modern democracies should be considered as elected oligarchies. In these systems, actual differences between viable political rivals are small, the oligarchic elite impose strict limits on what constitutes an 'acceptable' and 'respectable' political position, and politicians' careers depend heavily on unelected economic and media elites.

 

 

This list is by no means exhaustive although it is exhausting.  I encourage everyone to research the words themselves to better understand what they are talking about.  And, despite the fact that I attempted to be as apolitical as possible, there is no doubt that my biases came through subconsciously in editing all the information together.

 

What is the point?  Why did I subject you all to this academic dribble?  Why should you not hate me after this mind numbing dictionary tour?  Because everyone reading this needs to examine what they believe.  And maybe, by reading this, you will discover the ridiculousness of many of the terms we throw around on this site and others on a daily basis.  My challenge is for you to think of these definitions next time you write are maybe either be more specific using the terms or describe the issue rather than use the common term.

 

When I look at America today based off the definitions above here is what I see: Economically, we are some kind of cross between internally fascist and externally liberal with our own policies without require other countries to uphold those same ideals (i.e. we don’t impose tariffs or inspections on imported goods but even though other countries impose them on our goods).  Governmentally we are moving rapidly toward some kind of super federalist, mildly authoritarian oligarchy because only political elites can be elected to office and the federal government is intruding more and more into the lives of the citizenry.  Socially you could say we are conservative in that we are against rapid change and liberal in that we increasignly redistributing wealth.  In foreign Policy we are…I don’t even know.  Anti-protectionists?  Interventionist?  Maybe even influence Imperialists.  We are anti-pre-WWII Republicans and Democrats – also known as post-WWII Republicans and Democrats.

 

And if you look at the policies of McCain and Obama through the definitions above, you will realize they are very similar in the broadest sense.  Will either candidate change the term that best describes our nation economically, governmentally, socially, or even in foreign policy.  Before you answer on foreign policy, recall that Obama is against the Iraq war but seems more that willing to continue the trend of limited, premptive, military “police actions” like those of Presidents Reagan and Clinton.

 

This is what I base my assertion on when I say that neither candidate will make any fundamental changes and are, therefore, the same…or at least varying degrees of the same.

 

That brings me to the discussion topic. 

 

If the parties are the same, why do we have two parties instead of returning to the Democrat-Republican party of the 1790s?  And if party labels don’t mean anything any more, why continue with them?  And if party labels and therefore parties are no longer meaningfull, isn’t the two party system, as a result, no longer usefull?

 

My thesis.  In this information age where a candidate’s beliefs are accessable to virtually every member of society at any time, the two party system and the primary system should be totally revamped.

 

I believe a better system would be that if citizens are able to meet some prerequisite they could be listed on the primary ballot.  Whatever this prerequisite milestone (I will let some smart people figure that out), it should not be monitary and should limit the number of prospective candidates to around 10 nationally.  Citizens of each state would be able to vote for their top choice in the state primary (all state primaries would be on the same day) regardless of party affiliation…because there would be no more parties with which to affiliate.  Points would be awarded to candidates based on the partial credit received in the primary.  The two candidates with the highest number of points would be the candidates for the general election.

 

I like this idea for a couple of reasons.  Probably the number one is the power peddling and big money within the two parties today.  I have listened to people who have been politicians or have run for office tell stories of how disgusted they became after seeing how politics really worked.  The party will only support you if you toe the line…and party support is the only way to get elected because the party is where the money is.  Basically, the party will scratch your back but you have to scratch it’s back for the remainder of the time.  There are numerous direct consequence that I believe would be very helpful if parties were no longer allowed to be big business.  First would be a decrease in centralized big money with the parties which would decrease money in politics as a whole.  Next would be fostering a debate on ideas rather than the current debate based on party affiliation and name calling (names we have already determined no longer have meaning). 

 

Another benefit would be the quality of people in the general election.  With state open primaries all on the same day, the two people whose ideas the greatest number people identified with would be on the ballott.  No longer in states with late primaries would you be forced to vote for the “presumtive nominee.”  No longer would you run into the situation where a candidate wins a state by one vote but gets every elector from that state…leading to a situation where Hillary has more popular votes but Barack has more delegates.

 

There are many benefits to this set up but the final one I will discuss is the more direct feeling of influence in the political process.  Your vote for the person whose ideas you like the most counts directly toward making him or her one of the two presidential candidates.  There are no competing distractions, just the candidates’ platforms.  This leads, once again, to a debate of ideas rather than the name calling slugfest that politics has become.

 

I am going to cut this off before I go on any longer.  (All you who are still here are thanking me for that)  I am mostly looking for a discussion on this idea.  What parts of this idea do you like?  What parts don’t you like?  What could make it better?  What parts wouldn’t work?