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A different Political System  ? (Read 12927 times)
Sprintcyclist
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A different Political System  ?
Mar 30th, 2007 at 3:43pm
 
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 ?
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Modern Classic Right Wing
 
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JJJ(Guest)
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #1 - Mar 30th, 2007 at 3:52pm
 
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.
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zoso
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #2 - Mar 30th, 2007 at 4:59pm
 
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).
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Stu
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #3 - Mar 30th, 2007 at 6:20pm
 
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
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Sprintcyclist
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #4 - Mar 30th, 2007 at 11:44pm
 
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
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Modern Classic Right Wing
 
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AUShole
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #5 - Mar 31st, 2007 at 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).

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.
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AUShole
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #6 - Mar 31st, 2007 at 5:38pm
 
Stu wrote on Mar 30th, 2007 at 6:20pm:
Why am i here typing wasting my time

www.tapp.org.au


Only you can answer that, Stu.   Huh
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zoso
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #7 - Mar 31st, 2007 at 5:42pm
 
AUShole wrote on Mar 31st, 2007 at 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?
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AUShole
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #8 - Mar 31st, 2007 at 6:01pm
 
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
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zoso
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #9 - Mar 31st, 2007 at 8:14pm
 
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?
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AUShole
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #10 - Apr 1st, 2007 at 1:31pm
 
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".

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« Last Edit: Apr 1st, 2007 at 1:36pm by AUShole »  
 
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zoso
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #11 - Apr 1st, 2007 at 3:31pm
 
Got ya, sorry Smiley

Its amazing what you miss without vocal intonations Smiley
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #12 - Apr 1st, 2007 at 9:35pm
 
what would happen to all those generational labor and liberal voters, they wouldnt know what to do...

we dont want to confuse anyone
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #13 - Apr 1st, 2007 at 10:13pm
 
The cruicial part is EVERY decision HAS to be unanimous.
Not even anyone abstaining.
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Modern Classic Right Wing
 
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Re: A different Political System  ?
Reply #14 - Apr 1st, 2007 at 11:12pm
 
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.
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« Last Edit: Apr 1st, 2007 at 11:31pm by Shithouse Rat »  

...aaand loving it!!!
 
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