Back to OzPolitic.com   Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
  Forum Home Album HelpSearchRegisterPM to admin Recent Rules Login  
 

Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
A different Political System  ? (Read 3015 times)
sprintcyclist
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 10254

A different Political System  ?
Mar 30th, 2007, 3:43pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
Here is an idea I heard a while ago.


Have a non party political system.  Everyone is an independant.
Every decision made by the government must be unanimous.

Other people here would have heard of the same idea.

Any comments ?
Back to top
 
 

Classic Right Wing
View Profile   IP Logged
JJJ(Guest)
Guest




Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #1 - Mar 30th, 2007, 3:52pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
without parties, then how do u select a prime minister??

if u suggest a direct vote by the people, that wouldn't work since you would have a long list of candidates and i hardly doubt someone is that popular to the point that they would receive more than 50% of the population's vote.
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
zoso
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 512

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #2 - Mar 30th, 2007, 4:59pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
Independents would more or less divide along the current lines and you will have made no difference. Then there is the other issue of the ministry, although that can easily be voted on by the houses.

Don't get me wrong, ideally I agree with you... but human nature tends to screw with idealistic scenarios Smiley

I would just like for the current party discipline to break down a little, and politicians adopt a more open attitude towards voting independently on local issues with local constituents in mind, like Barnaby does. The Liberal party I believe is way ahead of Labor in this regard in that they allow floor crossing, as far as I'm aware if you cross the floor in the Labor party you are out of the party (but I could be wrong).
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
Stu
Junior Member
**
Offline

I Love YaBB 2!

Posts: 65

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #3 - Mar 30th, 2007, 6:20pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
hey you can say god wears a thong but its not going to make one iota.

Why you need a government to make change see that happening here with talk.

Not going to happen.

Why am i here typing wasting my time

www.tapp.org.au
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
sprintcyclist
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 10254

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #4 - Mar 30th, 2007, 11:44pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
Hi JJJ , Zoso and Stu,

These are just my guesses, I am making it up as I go !!! (always the best fun)

JJJ - The PM would be just a spokesperson to represent the Govt.  He would not be a "leader, as such.


Zoso - interesting. Yes, human nature is the .... crucial point. From what little i know, I like the sound of Barnaby.

Stu - All things start with a dream
Back to top
 
 

Classic Right Wing
View Profile   IP Logged
AUShole
Full Member
***
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 159
WA
Gender: male
Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #5 - Mar 31st, 2007, 5:32pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
SC, what you are proposing is a form of non-partisan democracy, which is one step away from direct democracy. Absolute power to the people. All decisions are voted upon by the individual electors (kind of like a perpetual referendum).

Interestingly, the first government of USA was non-partisan. It didn't last very long, and has now morphed into a two party system.

I think you and Stu (TAPP) share the same POV, that a lack of choice breeds parties that no longer represent the interests of the public i.e. an oligarchy. In principal, I agree with a large number of independents/parties. But it does make for a less stable government, as allegiances between independents in a non-partisan system will change over time. It is also far more expensive, because the system becomes increasingly complex.
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
AUShole
Full Member
***
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 159
WA
Gender: male
Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #6 - Mar 31st, 2007, 5:38pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
Stu wrote on Mar 30th, 2007, 6:20pm:
Why am i here typing wasting my time

www.tapp.org.au


Only you can answer that, Stu.   Huh
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
zoso
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 512

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #7 - Mar 31st, 2007, 5:42pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
AUShole wrote on Mar 31st, 2007, 5:32pm:
SC, what you are proposing is a form of non-partisan democracy, which is one step away from direct democracy. Absolute power to the people. All decisions are voted upon by the individual electors (kind of like a perpetual referendum).
But isn't that what direct democracy is about? Wouldn't getting rid of political parties be a step towards direct democracy?
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
AUShole
Full Member
***
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 159
WA
Gender: male
Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #8 - Mar 31st, 2007, 6:01pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
Quote:
But isn't that what direct democracy is about? Wouldn't getting rid of political parties be a step towards direct democracy?


Yes. I don't understand your point, or are you just agreeing with me?  Smiley
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
zoso
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 512

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #9 - Mar 31st, 2007, 8:14pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
No you said getting away from a party system is moving away from direct democracy, but I thought it would be moving towards direct democracy?
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
AUShole
Full Member
***
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 159
WA
Gender: male
Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #10 - Apr 1st, 2007, 1:31pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
Quote:
what you are proposing is a form of non-partisan democracy, which is one step away from direct democracy.


That was intended to mean:

Government of independents = non-partisan --> direct democracy

One step away is a point of comparison, that direct democracy is only one step from non-partisan government (i.e. Shirley lives around the corner, she is only one step away from me). You are interpreting this literally (i.e. Shirley smells, I am taking one step away from her, where the air is more fresh).

What I should have said is "what you are proposing is a form of non-partisan democracy, which is one step from direct democracy".

Back to top
 
« Last Edit: Apr 1st, 2007, 1:36pm by AUShole »  
View Profile   IP Logged
zoso
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 512

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #11 - Apr 1st, 2007, 3:31pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
Got ya, sorry Smiley

Its amazing what you miss without vocal intonations Smiley
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
pender
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 742
sydney
Gender: male
Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #12 - Apr 1st, 2007, 9:35pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
what would happen to all those generational labor and liberal voters, they wouldnt know what to do...

we dont want to confuse anyone
Back to top
 
 
View Profile   IP Logged
sprintcyclist
Gold Member
*****
Offline

OzPolitic

Posts: 10254

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #13 - Apr 1st, 2007, 10:13pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
The cruicial part is EVERY decision HAS to be unanimous.
Not even anyone abstaining.
Back to top
 
 

Classic Right Wing
View Profile   IP Logged
Shithouse Rat
New Member
*
Offline

The truth hurts...

Posts: 39

Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #14 - Apr 1st, 2007, 11:12pm
Alert Board Moderator about this Post! 
There is no point having a government that requires absolute unanimity because it will always default to the lowest common denominator - which everybody already agrees on beforehand. There's no meaningful decision to be made there. Who needs a law that everyone already obeys instinctively?

Government is about resolving contentious differences peacefully and expediently - it requires compromise, and also needs a mechanism which can break deadlocks when necessary. A majority vote of some kind seems the only practical way of doing this to me.

Rousseau, I think, suggested that unanimity was inevitable when the "General Will" was accurately determined, and also suggested that any kind of factionalism was a sign of a failure of the democratic process. The only sense I've been able to make of this is to recognize a distinction between the acceptance of the process (ie. there has to be unanimous acceptance of the legitimacy of the parliament and therefore it's decision), as opposed to an expectation that the process itself would be determined by a unanimous vote. Rousseau emphasized the distinction between the "General Will" (acceptance of process) and the "Will of All" (sum of individual wills). I suspect that when you have a functioning direct democracy this distinction might disappear, which I think was Rousseau's assumption, and it might be a source of confusion if we are talking about representative systems.

Political parties are simply a regulated form of political association. Freedom of association is a basic democratic right.
Back to top
 
« Last Edit: Apr 1st, 2007, 11:31pm by Shithouse Rat »  

...aaand loving it!!!
View Profile   IP Logged
Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print