Why things will not change

The political party system is an unreliable method for determining a candidate’s ability to reason effectively but a very efficient method for concentrating power within a democracy. Political parties, like religions, serve a dogma that represents the favored rules and standards of behavior for Human Beings within a society. Political parties in this country stay in power because they have the infrastructure and fund raising capability to successfully elect their own candidates. The institutionalization of their power is used to discourage the emergence of new and potentially rival political parties. They also have a long history of positions on the policies of government. The number of choices and the complexity of decisions are dramatically reduced in the current system. Acceptance of political affiliation carries with it consensus for the dogma of the particular party. The constituency can vote for policies in a very comprehensive fashion. A Democratic vote for liberal policies and a Republican vote for conservative policies. This system satisfies the voting public in this country. There are no other political parties with the capacity for long-term successful candidacies. The large sums of money needed to achieve leadership roles would become available only upon wholesale desertions of the Democratic or Republican parties. The greatest efficiency in the use of money to influence public policy comes with investment in winning candidates. There is little hope of either a plurality of political parties or the demise of Democrats or Republicans as long as constituencies are reduced to liberal or conservative viewpoints. The strategy of political parties served an educational role when this country was largely functionally illiterate and the communication of ideas was a slow and limited process. At this time, however, political parties condense power by limiting the available choices. Candidates and policies arise from only two different sources. At this time our ability to communicate gives us the promise of multiple choices of candidates and uncompromising solutions to problems. The prerequisite is that the power vested in political organizations is decremented.