Sure would be nice if we could move on from FPTP so alternative parties weren’t inherently destructive to the party they more closely align with. Not holding my breath though
The US has literally 0 third party representation at the federal level and 10 state senators all libertarian. Even Bernie isn’t technically a third party he just is no party. So to be clear, having no party is far far better in the US than representing a third party even in a local election.
I found this video on the mathematics of democracy fascinating. It’s not some accident that third parties hurt the party they’re more aligned with: it’s inevitable under first-past-the-post. Really, the only reason to start a third party is to influence one of the other parties, and even then it’s a dangerous game because your spoiler effect may create backlash, drawing people away from the ideas you want to promote. The older I get, the more I see that you can’t win the game without playing it.
This is why I’ve been thinking we should focus on changing the voting system within primaries rather than in the general to start with. The general election is going to require massive amounts of effort and political will to change, but primaries could be changed more easily since it’s mainly up to the party itself (still could require some legal changes to update voting machines, etc)
Sure would be nice if we could move on from FPTP so alternative parties weren’t inherently destructive to the party they more closely align with. Not holding my breath though
Same problem in the UK. A party can finish a close second in hundreds of constituencies, totalling millions of votes, but have nothing to show for it.
Proportional representation is the way.
The US has literally 0 third party representation at the federal level and 10 state senators all libertarian. Even Bernie isn’t technically a third party he just is no party. So to be clear, having no party is far far better in the US than representing a third party even in a local election.
I think you are conflating two things. We can have a viable third party with ranked choice voting. We don’t necessarily need PR.
Personally I think PR will fragment the parliament and destabilise the government.
Also if you look at 2024, PR would’ve given many seats to Reform…
I found this video on the mathematics of democracy fascinating. It’s not some accident that third parties hurt the party they’re more aligned with: it’s inevitable under first-past-the-post. Really, the only reason to start a third party is to influence one of the other parties, and even then it’s a dangerous game because your spoiler effect may create backlash, drawing people away from the ideas you want to promote. The older I get, the more I see that you can’t win the game without playing it.
This is why I’ve been thinking we should focus on changing the voting system within primaries rather than in the general to start with. The general election is going to require massive amounts of effort and political will to change, but primaries could be changed more easily since it’s mainly up to the party itself (still could require some legal changes to update voting machines, etc)