Good Evening, Juho re: "You say that partisanship is healthy but on the other hand you say that partisans should not be allowed in power."
Exactly! That's what makes it so difficult to improve a political system. We can recognize the dangers of party politics but we can't (and shouldn't try to) outlaw political parties. Instead, we must devise a system that is not controlled by them. re: "I interpret this so that you are mainly like "low layer partisanship" in the discussions of small groups but do not like some individual partisans gaining power and e.g. use "mass manipulation of the media" to distribute their partisan viewpoints to others." That is not quite what I mean. In the U. S., our major political parties are quasi-official entities that control the selection of candidates for public office. They raise the immense amounts of money needed to get their candidates elected by selling the votes of their candidates to vested interests. They meet their commitment to the donors by picking politicians who can be relied upon to enact the laws and implement the policies the donors' desire. In other words, political parties are nothing but conduits for corruption. None of this has anything to do with liberalism or conservatism or any of the other nonsense with which the media floods our senses. It is cold, hard cynicism ... and it trades on our natural inclination toward partisanship. re: "... where I end up in the same room with a drug dealer that wants to expand his influence in the city. Should I vote against him if he seems to be determined to get that position and tells me that I should understand that we should elect him." Doesn't that depend on whether you know the person is a drug dealer? If not, you will have an extended period of time to evaluate him (or her). All you can base your decision on is what you hear and observe, the information you are able to glean from your examination of the person, and your evaluation of material supplied by others, if there is any. For example, wouldn't you be likely to ask the people in your group where they work and try to assess the forthrightness of their response? Furthermore, you are not alone in the process. Others, too, will evaluate this person. If you misjudge, others may not. There is always the possibility that a scoundrel will run the gauntlet successfully, but the odds against it are infinitely better than we endure now, with political parties selecting our candidates. re: "Two minority opinion holders in a room may not even recognize each others and will yield to the assumed majority opinion proudly presented by the third member." If the "third member" presents convincing evidence that he (or she) best represents the interests of the "two minority opinion holders", they can and should select the third member. It is not a matter of whether those who share "a minority opinion" can recognize each other. It is a matter of which participant is the best representative of the other two. Let me state that another way: It does not matter what label you attach to a person. One of the participants in a triad may be a Tory or a Democrat or a Communist or a Vegetarian or a Royalist or a Libertarian. That is not what you are concerned about. What you want to know is the person's stand on the ordinances and the budget appropriate to your group. If the person thinks your community should build a new school and you agree, that may be enough to attract your support. If you disagree, that may be enough to prevent your support. The person may periodically dance for the Rain God, but your concern is (or, at least, should be) with the person's stand on the public questions that concern you. re: "Consider me as random noise that may be useful ..." You have been vitally important, and I hope we can continue. So far, we've barely scratched the surface of an extremely complex topic. Ideas, to have value, must be challenged. Your challenges have encouraged me to think carefully about some of the issues we've raised. Perhaps others will join our quest for knowledge. I just hope they won't wait too long before they challenge us because I'm already 79 years old. Fred ---- Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
