The most fundamental reason that voters cannot elect officials who will represent them is that political parties dictate the voter’s options. George Washington warned us of the danger of factions in his Farewell Address. Yet, factions (parties) grabbed power because we, the people, didn’t understand how they corrupt the political process.
Instead of uniting the people and advancing our common interests, parties incite antagonism among the people in order to divide us and increase their power. They dominate us by the most basic principle of conquest: Divide and Conquer.
Democracy is supposed to be a bottom-up concept; political power is vested in the people and rises, by their choice, to the officials they elect. We have yet to achieve that arrangement of our political existence because Washington’s “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” were “enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government”. They created top-down political organizations that let them set the agendas and choose the candidates for which the people vote. These structures corrupt the democratic process because
Those who set the options, control the outcome!
Not many people realize that letting political parties select the candidates for public office is profoundly undemocratic. We must help them see that, as long as we let political parties choose the candidates for public office, they will select people who advance the party’s interest, not ours.
If we are to elect officials who will represent us, we must start by devising an electoral process that lets each of us participate in the selection process to the full extent of our desire and ability.
goldcrown says
The Media focuses on the Republican & Democratic Parties. They don’t let 3rd Parties participate in debates. They say very little about who the 3rd Party Candidates are & where they stand on the issues. The Democrats say they are for the working people & the 99%. but they suck up to Wall Street & favor endless wars, drone strikes & aid to Saudi Arabia & Israel. The Republicans suck up to the Religious Right & oppose LGBT rights & talk about phony persecutions such as the persecution of Christians in the USA.
Fred Gohlke says
Yes, but wouldn’t it be more productive to start developing a better way to select our representatives in our government? Do you have any suggestions?
Fred Gohlke