sanahtlig Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 I came across another article that elaborates on the point that government relies on some degree of irresponsiveness to its constituents (and loyalties imposed on them by party officials and other aspects of the much-maligned political machine) in order to function properly. Quote Chaos syndrome is a chronic decline in the political system’s capacity for self-organization. It begins with the weakening of the institutions and brokers—political parties, career politicians, and congressional leaders and committees—that have historically held politicians accountable to one another and prevented everyone in the system from pursuing naked self-interest all the time. As these intermediaries’ influence fades, politicians, activists, and voters all become more individualistic and unaccountable. The system atomizes. Chaos becomes the new normal—both in campaigns and in the government itself. The Atlantic: How American Politics went Insane Kenshin_sama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenshin_sama Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 On 6/21/2016 at 3:06 AM, sanahtlig said: I came across another article that elaborates on the point that government relies on some degree of irresponsiveness to its constituents (and loyalties imposed on them by party officials and other aspects of the much-maligned political machine) in order to function properly. The Atlantic: How American Politics went Insane Very interesting. I'm not the best-informed on politics, and as sensible as that article seems to me, a lot of the points contradict my current beliefs. However, because I lack the knowledge to really understand politics, I'm willing to keep an open mind. I'd just like a few things clarified to me if you're able to. My main question right now is in regards to "big money" in politics. Since the beginning of this election (when I started paying attention to politics), I've held on to the belief that corruption has had a significantly negative impact on our economy. Wealth and income inequality is still a problem, poverty is on the rise, the middle class is virtually non-existent, and human labor will eventually be obsolete. Right now, I believe that our political system has been completely overrun by oligarchs aiming to limit the wealth of hard-working people in order to further their own growth. As I see it, the whole point of lobbying from special interests is to further corporate profits. If politicians are tied to their donors through massive contributions, will these issues be resolved by lifting the cap on donations? The main reason I ask that is because of a campaign that aims to make lobbying illegal through the ballot initiative. Would that be considered counterproductive to resolving problems in the US? I'm really not sure if I should be skeptical of the Anti-Corruption Act or not.https://represent.us/http://anticorruptionact.org/whats-in-the-act/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanahtlig Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 1 hour ago, Kenshin_sama said: The main reason I ask that is because of a campaign that aims to make lobbying illegal through the ballot initiative. Would that be considered counterproductive to resolving problems in the US? I'm really not sure if I should be skeptical of the Anti-Corruption Act or not.https://represent.us/http://anticorruptionact.org/whats-in-the-act/ I'm not a political scientist, and part of my point in posting that article is simply to show the complexity of the issue. Just like medical intervention, political intervention is likely to have off-target effects, and we need to understand these. That said, I'm a strong proponent of intelligent and nonpartisan campaign finance reform, which is why I was initially attracted to Bernie Sanders's campaign. I witnessed what appeared to be a political science seminar where the speaker compellingly argued for radical reforms similar to the ones presented in your second link. If I recall correctly, he admitted that the reforms proposed would likely be blocked by established interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenshin_sama Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 47 minutes ago, sanahtlig said: I'm not a political scientist, and part of my point in posting that article is simply to show the complexity of the issue. Just like medical intervention, political intervention is likely to have off-target effects, and we need to understand these. Oh, I see. I didn't think you'd need to be that educated on politics to understand it, but I suppose it is rather complicated. As depressing as they can, I do occasionally read arguments on FB to understand how people get involved in the political system and why things are as messed up as they have been. One conclusion I did eventually come to was that there's never a straightforward fix to anything. 47 minutes ago, sanahtlig said: That said, I'm a strong proponent of intelligent and nonpartisan campaign finance reform. I witnessed what appeared to be a political science seminar where the speaker compellingly argued for radical reforms similar to the ones presented in your second link. If I recall correctly, he admitted that the reforms proposed would likely be blocked by established interests. I believe Represent.Us plans on using the ballot initiative to get around Congress. It seems to have been successful in some cities, and it could go further to the state and federal level if their plan pulls through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhe286ky-9A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Democracy has gone too far when people I don't like get elected! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeruleanGamer Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Well in the Philippines, we finally elected a rather "Donald Trump-like" president who doesn't give a fuck. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in office a little over a week ago. This guy is literally a Filipino Trump; he pretty much won the election by inciting hate and bigotry. He also hates the media to the point he wants all of them "murdered". He's pretty much a zero-tolerance, no bullshit guy and some people just love that... Also, all these polls being shown by CNN, Fox News, MSNBC are all full of fucking bullshit. All they do is make you feel good about your candidate (aka. CNN - Clinton News Network trying to appeal to Hillary Clinton supporters and Fox News (Faux News) appealing to Donald Trump supporters) A good number of Americans are undecided right now, so it's really gonna go down to the "silent majority" to tip the scales, not you Retardicans or Demoturds waving their dumb ass flags and attending the candidates' rallies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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